The Scaled King
by Vault166
Summary: Naruto Kusanagi Was your normal Teenager... He enjoyed practicing spear techniques, and he loved his cousins Godou and Shizuka Kusanagi. But most of all he enjoyed sitting under a shady tree and lazing about as time passed... Now if only Killing that Scaly Bastard hadn't thrown that option out the window.
1. 1 the Dawn Of a New Soul

The sky darkened, thundering like an angry beast as lighting climbed through the clouds. Rain hammering the world below as a child started running home. He was small and thin like he had skipped several meals, sunny blond hair along with bright blue eyes. A glint of fear glowing within them as he started running, after all bad things, very bad things happened when it was dark out.

Usually he was home hiding in his apartment by now, but he had ended up talking to the Ichiraku's and lost track of time. His white shirt now soaked with rain as he ran through a muddy puddle further wetting his small feet. The jury rigged straps holding his tattered blue sandals on snapped, however the blonde kept running not even noticing as they were lodged into the mud making shlunking sound as they sunk deeper into the gunk.

He could hear the shouts, the shouts calling for him with glowing orange torches and freshly sharpened pitch forks. The blond wasn't an idiot-no matter what the villagers chose to believe- no for a four year old he was rather average in intellect. He knew that should they catch him they would hurt him, he didn't know why they wanted to hurt him, but he knew they would.

As a four year old he didn't really understand the concept of death. If he did he would have understood that this time they weren't looking to hurt him this time, no this time they were going for broke. This time the villager were aiming to kill. Armed with kunai they had managed to weasel out of a weapon merchant from cloud country, they would make it look like a another village had done the deed.

Anyone who heard their sadistic calls for the child would have been able to see this. That was the reason they had chased the child into the alleys, no one went inside besides runaways and criminals-people who would never rat them out since it would mean putting themselves in the spotlight as well.

The whiskered blonde rushed past a corner, raindrops pounding on his back. A sense of hope filled him as a ghost of smile formed on his face. It was only one block to his apartment, he could make It! It was only just a bit further…

Only for fear to grip his heart as a hand snaked around his neck and held his mouth shut just as he was about to scream. The world blurred as his head was slammed into the wall of the alley, the sickening crack of the four year old's head banging against the wall lost easily to the snap of thunder. Lightning screamed as it struck the ground in some far off place as he was pulled away Unable to resist as he was dragged back into the alleys- deeper and deeper- the muddy ground scraping harshly against his unprotected feet.

By the time the blond could make out his surrounding, a bunch of people were crowding all around him like he was some sort of circus attraction. He tried to sit up only to find he had been bound to some sort of table. It was only then did the boy register the fact their was a roof above him. A whisper to the side caught his attention, as he focused on it.

"Don't be so anxious it's healing factor will be failing any minute now, then we can get this nightmare over with." He didn't catch the rest of the conversation as they seemed to realize he was awake. The crowds quiet observation quickly became loud jeering sadism as they yelled for his death. A man walked up to him apparently not apart of the crowd as he took out a strange looking knife that he'd seen ninja use before. He grabbed his right hand as trailed the blade over his wrist, leaving a small cut across his arm.

Ruby liquid leaking out from his skin as the man stared at the cut, as if waiting for something. Minutes had crawled by when the man let out a twisted smile. He took the knife and… stabbed the blondes belly. Pain lanced through him a silent scream breaking out of his mouth as malicious energy rushed through his body, before he was knocked unconscious.

Unknown to the boy a corrosive red mist oozed out from the wound on his stomach, strange tribal marks started glowing around revealing the seal of the nine tailed fox. The originally black marks turned orange as one of the closer villager looked at the seal.

Gasping the villager realized, the knife was going straight through the kanji for seal.

* * *

Naruto Uzumaki was floating? His eyes opening slowly he gave the world around him a glance. He was tired, very tired even opening his eyes was a struggle, as he observed that he was in some sort of sewer with gigantic gate in front of him. It was a shiny bronze gate with a single circular lock with the word seal in the middle… cracked in half.

Big red slitted eyes filled with the echoes of dead men, slid open on the other side of the gate as it slinked out from within the shadows. Revealing it to be a gigantic fox with rustic orange fur, as it sat languidly in front of the gate, giving him a tired glance as it rested on it's haunches, raising a paw as if to give him a wave. Blood red eyes glowed ominously as they trailed his form blood lust trickling from the beasts body, the vulpine character seemingly wearing it like a freshly woven coat.

" **Bye kid, it was... nice knowing you I** **suppose."** the fox paused **"Now, it seems I have a village to play with..."** the fox said, though it seemed to be talking to itself rather than the blond. The blonde struggled as he only managed a drowsy complaint.

"Don't hurt Ayame-nee-san, or Teuchi-san they're nice…" Memories of warm smiles, and yummy food on cold night flooded his mind. "So nice..." The fox gave a half hearted chuckle that shook the room, as the child spoke listlessly " **Sure kid, I'll see you in the next life."** it said as the world went black once more the blond floating in an abyss of nothingness.

Little did the blonde know Konoha would nothing but a crater by the end of the day, the only two known survivors from the ordeal walking away from what was once there home, as they trudged away with nothing but a ramen cart and a hope to see their best customer once more. Even as a lucky few managed to crawl out from the wreckage, with skin soon to show the scars.

* * *

A little girl watch these events noting an errant flash of light disappearing into the fabric of time itself. She gave a giggle as she played with her pink hair. "This is going to be so much _fun_!" She yelled out into the blank space she inhabited. Roars of anger Answering her call, Whispers of annoyance, calls of boredom, and sighs of resignation mixed within the wave of hatred.

The girl payed no attention as she smiled cheerfully, content to watch this… story? Legend? no... this _Epic_ unfold.

* * *

The sun blanketed the hospital room, a set of cheerful yellow flowers set in a phase on the counter next to the blonde as rested. Seeming resting peacefully as his chest rose and fell with each breath. No one would have ever guessed the child was in a coma, and they most certainly never would have guest what left the four year old in such a state.

Well someone could have guessed the blond was in a car accident, which did account for his physical state. But they never would have guessed the miracle that was his spiritual state. They never would have guessed the sunny blond they knew and loved had been saved by himself, by a little sliver of silver light that had slipped through time itself.

They would have never guessed that one Titanic fox with fur the color of rust, was quite serious when he said he would see the child in his next life.

* * *

Ichirou Kusanagi, sighed sadly as he walked through the halls of the hospital. His nephew-Naruto son of Mirai Kusanagi and Arata Yoshida, both having died a month previous in a plane crash.

Naruto being the only survivor, was a miracle in itself. The entire thing started when one car crashed into another one nothing big… until it turned into a fourteen car pileup with a single tanker which happened to be carrying a rather strong experimental drug. A drug that had shown to be extremely fatal without immediate medical attention.

Naruto wasn't just the only survivor of the car crash he was one of the only living things within four blocks. The fact he didn't have physical wounds besides a large bump on his head only increased the miracle of his continued existence. Of course the chemical also had a chance to cause amnesia due to some sort of effect it has on the brain, the rest of the doctor's explanation having gone over the old man's head.

The paperwork had gone through a week ago marking both himself and his wife as the boys guardians for the foreseeable future. Or at least when he was released from the hospital that is… that was another strange thing the doctors had no Idea why the boy was still in a coma. As far as they could tell the boy was perfectly fine… No that didn't matter.

He shaking his head, as he looked down at the three year old child next to him. He had somewhat messy black hair, along with black eyes sparkling with happiness as the child thought about seeing his cousin again. A common white t-shirt and a set jeans adorned his body causing the toddler to be easily overlooked for kids with brighter and more hyperactive personalities.

Combined with the boy's obsession with being utterly normal, and the kid was practically a ghost. Heck the only time he'd ever seen Godou get louder than a polite tone was when Naruto had dumped a bucket of water on him a few weeks before the crash. He still had no Idea how the four year old had gotten that bucket on top of the door in the first place. It defied common logic!

Scratching his gray hair Ichirou dismissed the errant thoughts, he needed to be there for Godou. The younger Kusanagi had yet to see the child since the blond had fallen into the coma, and in all honesty Ichirou wanted to wait a bit longer before have the toddler witness a close friend sitting there with tubes sticking out his body unresponsive to the world.

The gray haired man had gone through something much the same when his mother passed from cancer long before hand. Hopefully the toddler wouldn't be too affected by the visit. "Come on Godou-chan." Pulling the child along by the hand he got the room number from the receptionist, the child nodding along all the way.

Marching down the tile halls, ignoring the scent of chemicals that were practically weaved into the building itself thanks to prolonged use. Footsteps clattering against the floor as they navigated the busy halls, only to turn into a quieter area. It had almost twenty door going down the hall, but only two were in use at the moment. The Kusanagi elder checked his watch showing that it was 8:23 AM Thankfully the hospital's visiting hours stretched from 6:00 AM To 7:00 PM.

The duo stopped in front of one door Taking a deep breath the older man reached out and turned the doorknob. The door opened smoothly without a sound as it swung open. The room inside was a typical hospital room, with the exception being the excess amount of machines in the room beeping at a steady pace. A window catching the sun as rose into the sky bouncing off of emerald leaves of trees in a nearby park.

The old man's breath caught in his throat as a blond child turned away from the window as he caught sight of the duo's entry. He smiled in such pure angelic way tears almost made an appearance as the old Kusanagi looked at the blond child. Some part of his mind told him that this wasn't Naruto Yoshida, or-Unbenounced to the elder-Naruto Uzumaki… no this was Naruto Kusanagi, the man who would be known around the world as they whispered his name, As they clanked their glasses together in the near future.

"To Naruto Kusanagi! The Scaled King!"


	2. 2 Home Coming

Eight years later

* * *

The hustle and bustle of the airport, echoed in his ears as he walked about blond hair shoved about by the heavy duty heaters. A small smile broke onto his whiskered face, as he walked through the doors of the tokyo airport. Blue eyes alight with a happy glow as they trailed the not so unfamiliar airport. A strong winter wind blew past him as if saying 'Welcome back!' only for thunder to crack above like it was yelling 'Now get off my lawn!'.

Chuckling at his own abnormal thoughts he too a deep breath before he gave a whispered "Home sweet home." After all it wasn't every day he came back home after having gone abroad from boarding school since he was Nine. But then again he was only twelve so it wasn't that big of a deal...

He shook his head 'Now what was the taxi companies number…' he thought digging into his pockets. 'Oh there it is', dialing the number on his phone he gave a quick look around. It was just the beginning to get dark, students passing by on the street going home after finishing their Christmas shopping. All decked out in heavy coat and scarves.

He himself was wearing a surprisingly heavy coat, as in both meant for fairly cold weather and very heavy in terms of weight as well. He doubted most of the kids he knew would be able to pick it up at all. Eh the price paid for good winter gear. A cheerful smile made it onto Naruto's face as he noticed the taxi stopping in the airport parking lot.

He gave the driver a blinding smile as he hopped into the yellow vehicle. Telling quickly giving the driver-who as it turned out was a rather well dressed man- the address, they were soon zooming off to their destination. He stared out the window in nostalgia, noticing people exchanging gifts in the street others talking happily as they walked by.

Store full of Christmas decoration, some full of children their parents watching them as they stared at all the new toys, some cheering about new video games. 'It truly has been too long' the blond thought wistfully, as he observed the changes since he had gone abroad. His attention was brought back to reality upon noticing a young girl skipping beside her mother as she apparently asked to be given whatever it was she had bought.

The mother sighed in exasperation as she dipped her hand into her shopping bag extracting a book from within. If he were younger the blond would have froze as she handed her daughter the book. Two memories shooting through his head violently.

* * *

 _An older woman laid in bed a blond toddler sitting wrapped in her arms as she read a book. "And with a great heave the knight stabbed the dragon, freeing the princes it held captive!" she said as the blond child giggled to the story. The woman smiled beautifully as she gave the child a kiss on the head. "Good night." she said as she got up from the bed the child pouting as she left the room._

* * *

 _An old lady scowled as she ripped a book from a young blonds hands "Demons don't get to read!" she screamed as another person held the blonde's wrists with one and lit a match with the other. The child struggled tears in his eyes as he tried to get his hand out of the vice like grip, only for it to be useless as the match burned the palms of his hands. Screams of pain ripped out of his throat. The pair giggled as they moved to burn his other hand._

* * *

When he was younger he used to break down crying his eyes out, like any normal child. But Naruto Kusanagi was far from normal no matter what everyone around him liked to think. He had been living with these flashbacks since the car crash/chemical leak that had taken his memories, though they had thankfully become far less common with time. To point that, this was the first one he'd had in years.

Since then he had recalled the entirety of both Naruto Yoshida, and Naruto Uzumaki's lives. He also knew for a fact he was neither of predecessors. He was Naruto Kusanagi the result of Naruto Uzumaki and Naruto Yoshida merging into one being. The Kusanagi knew he was an impossible existence, a being with more than one soul, but two parts of two very different people mixed together. He was being with more than a soul but less than two.

Acting in line with his unusual existence he didn't give the barest hint that anything had happened at all. The only thing different than usual was his somewhat tight smile as he gave a tired sigh. "Just your everyday life of your common sorta dimension traveler, please pay no attention." the blond mumbled under his breath. Grumbling to himself he barely noticed as the taxi pulled over to the curb, his almost two hour drive already over. "This is as far as I can go kid." the driver said gruffly. The blond shrugged, it wasn't that far just down the alley, so it wasn't problem to walk the rest of the way. Throwing some cash at the taxi driver, he didn't pay any attention for the fact he had given double the actual cost, too lost in thought as he shut the door to the cab.

He waved goodbye to the taxi as it drove away, when it was out of sight he turned around and set of a lazy trot down the alley. He didn't pay much attention to the many stores in the alley selling fruits and other things despite the cold along with the coming night. Only to give a mournful half frown, half genial smile that in hindsight probably made him look rather funny. If the looks people were giving had anything to say at least.

He didn't much attention to that though no, he was looking at the sliding door that led to an old shut down book store. The place was a leftover from WWII, that had been added onto three or four separate times making the place a comfortable home, despite all the books that were hanging around in the attic.

'The last time I was here was for aunt Chiyo's funeral wasn't it?' he gave a tired sigh, he had originally started going to boarding school when he was eight. At the time he had been ecstatic, and couldn't wait to go… but then aunt Chiyo had collapsed. It wasn't a week later that she had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. He couldn't name where it was for the specific reason it was all over the place…

Never mind that, the problem was that the week she was suppose to start chemotherapy was a week after he had to be at the boarding school. A school that it was so rare to even be accepted in it wasn't funny. It caused some friction with the family when he had chosen to go at his Adoptive mother's request. For the next year he took every chance to visit her as possible and for the next year she fought cancer. But one night maybe a week or two after his ninth birthday, he was called home for a medical emergency. He wiped an errant tear from his face, as the thought hit him.

He'd ended up rushing from Norway all the way back to Japan, only to arrive in time to have a far too short talk with his aunt before she passed. He remembered the nurses pushing them out of the room. Shizuka-his younger cousin-was bawling the entire drive back home, Godou was being Unusually quiet, while grandpa Ichirou was quietly sobbing as he drove them back to the Kusanagi residence. Naruto himself couldn't really remember what he had been doing during said drive, it was all to much of a blur.

By the time they'd arrived home the blond doubted he could cry much more. They'd all shuffled inside the house, crowding around the living room. But then Godou snapped and proved why bottled up emotions were a bad thing. He'd gone on rant, some things were said that they both probably regretted, and then the usually calm youth had gone and punched the blond in the nose. Breaking it and forever proving that playing baseball really helped you develop a strong right hook.

Of course by the time they'd broken up the fight Naruto had broken both of Godou's arms, so yeah saying things had turned physical was a bit of an understatement… after that day the family was sort of split he supposed. The next day he'd gone back to the boarding school thankful for his strangely fast healing factor, as it meant he didn't have to wear any gauze on his nose. It wasn't completely healed but it wasn't apparent either… off topic.

After that event he'd practically gone out of his way to make sure his name was always at the top of the list for the students staying at the school for the summer. Other than that he'd only ever talked to his uncle Ichirou, and a few sparse conversations with his cousin Shizuka.

Godou… well he hadn't asked over the years, and Godou had done the same, Both them were waiting for the other to apologize first they… were stubborn like that. Things with Asuka- a childhood friend of his and Godou- well they could be better. At some point in time Godou had mentioned that Naruto had broken both of his arms in an offhanded comment. Asuka had let her mind run wild with it, and had gone out of her way to hang up on him after he'd decided to check up on her after Chiyo's passing.

Naruto gave a sigh as he realized he'd been monologuing in an effort to stall, his first face to face meeting with his family in three years… Doing his best to shove down his building anxiety he took the last few steps to the door and took out his key.

He almost chuckled as the thought of what his friends would say upon seeing the usually unmovable blond (being a sorta-dimension traveler really increased your tolerance for ridiculous shit) shaking from the thought of seeing his family. The worse part was that his hand was actually trembling as he inserted his key into the door. Giving a quick prayer in hope that they hadn't changed the locks, he turned the key. The familiar sound of tumblers rotating and the click of the lock as Naruto sighed in relief.

Cobalt eyes glowed in anxious, anticipation as he slid the door open.

* * *

Ichirou Kusanagi couldn't help but give an astonished gasp. In all honesty the man never thought he would see His adoptive son enter his home willing ever again, so imagine his surprise when the front door slid to the side revealing a somewhat tall twelve year old with tarnished gold hair, and cobalt blue eyes that stared at him sheepishly.

The blond rubbed the back of his head, a small smile on his whiskered cheeks as he chuckled awkwardly. A large Green heavy coat draped over a white t-shirt with the words "Sanity? Is that a food" surrounded by question marks in the color black, along with a pair of blue jeans.

"Um sorry I'm late?" the blond said lamely, he didn't get a chance to say anything else as Ichirou sprung to feet. Something most people didn't believe he could do anymore as he practically tackled the blond, before he attempted to strangle him with a hug.

He struggled briefly before he simply gave in and hugged the old man back. "Welcome home Naruto, welcome home." Ichirou mumbled as he crushed his adoptive son. The blond in turn sighed as he hugged his uncle tighter. "It's good to be back Gramps."

Neither of them noticed Shizuka until she entered the room a fresh pot of tea in hand… only to almost drop it when she saw the blond.

Naruto Kusanagi knew he was an impossibility-an abnormality within the very worlds existence. But he supposed it wouldn't be a bad thing to try and hold on to his current feeling of being utterly normal. The feelings of warmth and comfort as he pulled it close and held onto it, reveling in it for as long as he could.

If only he knew how short that time would be.


	3. 3 Chain Of Events

Naruto's eye twitched as a sweat beaded down from his forehead, stress taking it's toll as he chewed on his lip idly. He was sitting on one side of their rather nice table in a comfortable couch, Shizuka was sitting next to calmly drinking a small cup of freshly brewed tea. A set of her pink hair puff _things_ ( _When he was younger he often swore they were alive!_ ( _Even now they still creeped him out!_ )) standing out in her short brown hair, green eyes closed as she sipped from her cup of rather flowery smelling tea.

His Gramps was sitting on the other side of the table mirroring Shizuka as he took a gulp of his tea. His brown hair salted with bits of gray as his aged black eyes smiled at him from across the table. Ichirou was wearing a was wearing a pair of gray slacks along with a light blue button up shirt, a pair of brown dress shoes completing the look. Looking at him you would never have guessed his was well into his sixties and ready to turn seventy in a few years time.

It was no wonder why girls both young and old swarmed the man, as he gave the younger blond a look that told him he knew exactly what he was thinking. Now that the blond thought about it his Ichirou did that quite a lot. It was like he could read people's minds or something.

It didn't matter any way, the blue eyed boy sighed in his mind, as he gave the old man a glare that said 'I don't care if you know what I'm doing you lazy old man!' quite clearly as the slightly grayed Kusanagi chuckled softly into his hand grasping the message behind the look easily. Shizuka gave a half hearted sigh as she ignored the duo, having long ago stopped trying to figure out how they talked without opening their mouths.

As much as she and her older brother had spent with the older Kusanagi- which was actually a great deal more than the blond- they would never be as close as Naruto was to Ichirou. She blew a tuft of hair out of her eyes as she grumbled to herself. But even she could feel how tense the atmosphere was. Despite how calm both Naruto and the Kusanagi elder were acting they were both tenser than she had ever seen.

The reason for this was quite simple.

The fourth member of the table, who was quietly avoiding the gazes of everyone else in the room. His solid black eyes running across the room anxiously as if looking for an exit. Somewhat messy black hair flailing about wildly over his head, he tried to ignore his current company. One of his fingers tapping anxiously as he looked like he was on the verge of crying in frustration.

Not that Naruto was any better, as sweat dripped down his forehead, doing his best not to glance in Godous's direction. Something made substantially harder by the fact they were sitting across from each other, only the small glass coffee table separating them. No one in the foursome missed the atmosphere, not even Godou and with how dense he was at times, only proved just how tense the situation really was.

A glass clinked on a fine china plate as Shizuka set her half empty cup on the tale nervously smoothing out her skirt before she stood up. "You'll have to excuse me I have to do my share of the chores." the brunette announced before she marched her way to the door sliding the door open. "Oh and it's nice seeing you again Naruto." as she walked through the door sliding it shut behind her. A few minutes later Ichirou excused himself from the table, a twinkle in his eyes as he shut the door behind him. Leaving the two boys alone both uncomfortable as they simultaneously fought the urge to squirm, as the sense of solitude closed in.

The blond didn't know what he was expecting when Godou gave a deep sigh, but he definitely wasn't expecting what happened next.

"I'm sorry Naruto." Cobalt eyes blinked blankly similar to that of a computer having trouble processing something. Before the blond could really formulate a response the words spilled out of his mouth. "What?" It wasn't a mocking question or even a thought out response, it was in all simplicity the first thing that popped into the blondes mind.

"I'm sorry." Godou restated sadly "I-I shouldn't have said, what I did that night, I shouldn't have broken your nose, I shouldn't have blam-" Stumbling over his words Godou licked his lips."I shouldn't have blamed you for Aunt Chiyo's death."Silence pervaded the room as thoughts raced through Naruto's mind like a fleet of runaway ships.

But one of those thoughts made it's way through his lips, as he spoke. "I-I forgave you a long time ago, a very long time ago, I was just waiting for you to share the sentiment." the Quiet stuck the room like a bad smell, just as it had previously, both boys giving the other incredulous stares. Neither knew how long it was before they began to chuckle softly.

But soon that soft chuckle turned into a quiet laugh, before it was loud manic cackling as they both realized what idiots they had been. It was that night they both knew everything between them was going to be just fine. The next two weeks of winter vacation were spent with family get togethers and friendly games of baseball, as they enjoyed their time together. Each of them agreed that the break had been much too short, as soon they were sending Naruto off on his way back to school, eventually at least. As he had to do some sort of errand for Ichirou delivering an old artifact to a shrine that had requested it.

It wasn't like delivering an old spear to some shrine in the middle of Sweden would be much of a problem so the blonde Kusanagi had agreed to deliver the weapon. Not like sending a twelve year old to country where he didn't even speak the language couldn't possibly go wrong right?

Right?

(Yeah he was screwed.)

* * *

The feeling of the plain slamming into the ground woke the blond from his dreams. Or as he would call them nightmares, they would start out nice enough with him sitting in the arms of what he assumed to be Naruto Yoshida's mother as she sung him a lullaby. Her warms causing the much younger version of himself to drift off into sleep, only to wake up surrounded by villagers their pitchforks making wicked shadows in the orange light.

Then they would proceed to torture him. He would panic, cry in pain, beg them to stop… but they would just laugh with a corrupted glee as they stuck a knife into his already shredded thighs. Somewhere in his mind he acknowledged the fact that most of dreams were fabrications and hadn't actually happened.

But another part of him also acknowledged the fact some of them were true.

'No it doesn't matter any more.' he told himself shoving the panic and confusion down as he took a deep breath. 'I'm not there anymore and they can't do anything to me anymore' wiping the cold sweat from his brow he stood up brushing off his pair of black pants, as he did the same to his dark green blazer an open collar button up shirt hiding underneath.

The blond sighed, he may hate being all dressy but he wanted to make an at least somewhat good impression. He wouldn't have chosen this if the "Shrine" that was buying the spear from his uncle wasn't supposedly "Very formal" as Ichirou had told him when he gave him the set of clothes.

It wasn't like it did much anyway considering it was winter and he was going to have to put his Sixty pound -Godou had actually weighed it over the break- winter coat over it. Now that he thought of it Ichirou had given that to him a well and it was dark green too… was his Gramps trying to give him a signature color? His eye twitched. ' _Definitely_ sounds like something he'd do' was his annoyed thought as he followed his fellow passengers out of the plain, slipping on his abnormally heavy coat as he walked.

Now that he thought about it wasn't really a winter coat considering he would wear it in the middle of summer, it was more of an all year round coat… Wait why the heck was he thinking about coats? Ignoring that line of thought he gave a glance around the airport terminal, having made his way off the plain without noticing.

He gave a sigh when he realized his ride was late. Resigned to waiting he went and sat at one of the many chairs decorating the somewhat cliche airport. He reached into his pocket, pulling out an old mp3 player he proceeded to ignore the rest of the world. The mp3 player wasn't anything special, he'd even gotten a new MP4 from Shizuka this Christmas, but he didn't want to lose it or get it stolen so the blond kept it in his duffle-bag.

Now that he thought of it he must have looked quite strange, with the big duffle-bag on his back, accompanied by a large package longer than he was tall wrapped in paper, and strapped to his back. Considering the fact he was twelve just made the picture even more ridiculous. Eh, wasn't like he cared and in the end it would just make it easier for the people the shrine was sending to find him.

He proceeded to close his eyes, and focused on his music as he waited for his ride to arrive.

* * *

 _A sense of timelessness invaded his body as he jolted to his feet, eyes shooting open as he observed his surroundings. Everything around him was frozen as he looked around, a girl on the other side of the room had frozen mid trip,_

 _a cup of hot coffee held still as it hung in front of her companion,_

 _a grandfather frozen in the middle of a call,_

 _a child stuck mid hop as he gestured emphatically his mother._

' _What the hell?' the blonde thought as he slowly grasped his surroundings. Moving forward slowly scanning the airport around him as he moved through the mass of people seemingly frozen in time. Dodging through frozen objects and people.  
_

 _A girlish giggle came from behind, and scaring the blond into the air like a scared cat. Spinning around fast enough that even he knew he probably should have gotten whiplash, the blond was met with bright emerald eyes._

 _It was a girl, a girl with Pink hair, and oh so bright green eyes shining with a bit of mischief as she giggled into her hand. Her hair was in twin tails with large ruby earrings dangling from her pointed elf like ears. A smile on her face as she gave him a look that set warning bells off in his head. She was rather young with a slim figure draped in a strange dress that complemented her already otherworldly look. He almost didn't notice the strange necklace around her neck, as she gave another quiet giggle. Despite this, Naruto couldn't bring himself to think of her as "attractive" no it more like she was beautiful in the sense that he would never be able to touch her. Like a piece of art behind museum glass.  
_

 _The blond was having trouble formulating his words, and just as he managed to get his thoughts straight, the woman spoke. Her voice was soft and alluring as every word seemed to engrave itself into his mind._

" _An impossibility is coming soon." she paused "Do you think you could fix it for me?" Before he could stop himself the words tumbled out of his mouth, "Uh... Sure?" he said in a confused voice, like he was still processing what was asked. She gave him another giggle having apparently caught on to his confusion._

" _Don't worry it will all make sense soon." Her Green eyes seemed to sparkle as she moved forward. A sense of solidity bit into his limbs as he found himself unable to move. She walked forward with the grace of a cat (a panther about to tear out his throat) as she closed in on his frozen (Helpless) form, putting a hand on his chest his breathing ceased as she pushed him away from her, and he descended into blackness._

* * *

The sounds of the airport poured into his ears as he shot to his feet, eyes open and searching wildly, as his breath turned ragged. Only to find himself in the same spot as before, that was it he must have fallen asleep he decided. Calming his breathing he fell back into his seat ignoring the strange looks the occupants of the airport were giving him as he did his best to merge into his seat.

Glancing at his watch, it turned out he'd been asleep a good twenty minutes. Sighing he ran a hand through his pale gold hair, calming his jumpy nerves. Sinking further into his chair he allowed his attention to be taken back to the music still blaring in his ears, though he did refrain from closing his eyes, in a small attempt to avoid anymore strange dreams. Instead he voted to keep his eyes on the revolving door, to see if he could spot his welcoming party.

A good four minutes later he noticed a man accompanied by a younger woman, both of them in common black suits with white under shirts. The girl he would admit could have been cute, or even hot with long brown hair a somewhat pale complexion bright caramel eyes and lithe long legs. But her shoulder were tense, as if she was ready to fight for her life at any second, each movement stiff, and disciplined

Basically her body language said her personality was almost the exact opposite, of the blonds care free attitude. The man next to her was obviously playing the bodyguard roll.

He was somewhere around six foot five,blood Red hair and glowing blue eyes, that scanned the crowd in a meticulous fashion. A lump in his suit told the blond he was packing a gun of some fashion in a shoulder holster, and a glimpse of a handle in his shoe told him the man had a knife of some sort.

But the worse part was that the duo was heading straight for him.

This was his previous lives Uzumaki luck rubbing off on him wasn't it?

Sighing in exasperation he stood up and motioned for them to hurry up as he slung his duffle-bag over his shoulder, doing the same action with the spear in a much gentler fashion. Hey he didn't want to break the stupid thing!

As the duo finally stopped in front of him A sense of foreboding washing over the room as the blond sighed mentally, 'Why do I feel as if I just walked into the viper's nest?'


	4. 4 A Wolf That Prowls

Alexandra Mused that her day had been… fine. She gave a smile as she spun her brand new spinney chair, giving a delighted giggle as she spun around and around. If any of her coworkers saw they would have had her admitted to an asylum of some sort (after all a _laughing_ Alexandra must surely be an omen of the coming apocalypse.) but that was fine.

After all the Alexandra Olsson, who was currently giggling in her chair, must have gone insane. But she didn't really care that much at the moment, after all she had just been promoted to representative of the Swedish Dragon shrine. It was her dream come true! She could feel the excitement bubble up in chest, so intense she almost squealed in excitement.

Before she could completely lose control of herself, she took a deep breath, in and out. She felt her normal calm overtake her as he pretty features were once more masked with a polite, if impassive smile. She gave herself a look in the mirror mounted on the wall of her new office.

Lately she had let her brown hair grow out, As it was now down to her shoulder blades. Her caramel eyes shining with a disciplined light. Her snow white skin complementing her already light features, luscious pink lips, and almost aristocratic features, made her a beauty. Something her expression did nothing to lesson.

A momentary deadpan broke onto her features. 'If anyone ever heard me say that they would think I'd been spending too much time with Blandelli' That blonde menace was a terror when she wanted to be, especially when it came to make up. 'Which is quite strange considering the brat doesn't even use any…' Alexandra shook her head, dispersing the thoughts of the eleven year old in the process. She needed to collect herself, sure she had made representative but she still had a ways to go before she reached her goal of being the shrine director.

'Yes just one step closer, no need to lose composure.' Alexandra thought straightening her leggings. She was just dressed in a somewhat expensive pant suit, black in color with a white button up dress shirt underneath.

A ding came over the intercom, as a bland male voice came through. _*Alexandra, Mr. Arman is here.*_ 'Wonder what he wants…' Denis Arman, a large of man of six foot two, black hair black eyes, and currently her boss. "Send him up Dylan." Now that she thought about it was strange for him to check in with the secretary, at all. Sure being the shrine representative required a great deal more responsibility than people thought, but that wasn't that big of a surprise.

After all the shrine was a large part of the Black saber association, and while they were small they were still a mage association. It wasn't strange that they got a lot of backed up paperwork, but none of this explained why the leader of the association was meeting with her.

* * *

Her caramel eyes were dark, no black with fury.

That rat bastard was blackmailing the shrine! Justin Merium the man who had been supporting the black saber Association for the past thirty years through donations to the dragon shrine, was threatening to remove all support! It was a nightmare, beyond comprehension she had just gotten her new position and this man was basically saying he would leave them to the wolves should they not follow his orders! Without his support they would crumble, in a matter of a few month (a year at most!) The Black Saber Association would be overrun by The Silver Wolf Committee.

Everything she had worked for would be nothing but dust in the wind should they deny his request.

In the end the request was more of whim than anything. He just wanted some ancient unnamed spear that had been used to kill a few dragons. A manageable request something they had managed to do in a few hours, but he also wanted them to conduct a strengthening ritual that would imbue the man with the power of the spear… something far more difficult (And of very dubious legality _)_. The man also insisted that it had to be done within the next 36 hours, due to some "never before seen" fluctuation in the ley lines, that would cause some sort of interference after that point.

Alexandra didn't care, ritual magic was never her forte in the first place. She much preferred her combat magic over such time consuming and overly generalized magic. It wasn't like the payout was ever actually worth the work in the first place.

She blew a lock of hair out of her eyes in irritation. 'Stupid wind!'

Not only were they being blackmailed, but the person who held the spear had an amazing reputation for finding rare artifacts. The man had never discovered or been informed of magic. But he had probably seen more Grimoires and lost tomes than any mage on the planet, with the exception being the Witch of Sardinia.

Needless to say the association wanted to leave a good impression, for any further business that might transpire between the two parties in the future. A deal had yet to be made and the person who was delivering the spear was suppose to negotiate a price. She was to be the one negotiating in favor of the shrine that the owner believed to be buying it. She was to provide the necessities for as long as the negotiations took.

In the end Merium was even providing the fund of which they were suppose to buy the spear, and considering it was a priceless one of a kind work… Well she was given a lot of breathing room.

But Alexandra didn't really care about that…

No it was the fact he had forced her to bring along this brute of a body guard! The man barely spoke, and when he did he most certainly wasn't Einstein either. He also didn't seem to be getting what she meant when she told him not to steal the stupid spear. Even Merium had agreed that angering this Kusanagi fellow would not be a good idea if only for the risk it would put on any further transactions.

It was precisely this reason Alexandra Olsson was fuming. This idiot would no doubt cause the negotiations to collapse. Not that she let these feeling show, of course. No on the outside she looked positively impassive, like a truck could hit her companion and she wouldn't have been phased.

Well her expression might have been a bit cold but their was no helping that at the moment.

The fact that they were currently passed the set time for when they picked him up, wasn't helping her mood either. Tires squealed as the driver raced down the streets, but time still seemed to crawl by as Alexandra calmly awaited their arrival at the airport.

* * *

'He-he's just a kid!' Alexandra thought with a certain amount of surprise. The Blonde rolled his eyes at her as if he had just read her mind. Reaching his hand out for a hand-shake, instinct kicked in and Alexandra met his hand with her own and shaking three consecutive times, before the opened his mouth and spoke, in Japanese.

"I am Naruto Kusanagi." he said, thankfully she knew Japanese and responded in the same language. "It's nice to meet you , I'm Alexandra Olsson and I'll be providing you with room and board along with representing the Dragon shrine during the negotiations." her tone was polite, her smile warm and welcoming but, the boy didn't seem to buy it, even as he responded in kind.

"I hope my stay will be pleasant."

* * *

'This is fun' Naruto thought happily a Cheshire grin on his face as he looked upon Alexandra's pale-ing face. It hadn't even been an hour since they'd arrived at the shrine, having been swiftly directed into a private room where the negotiations would begin.

But in that hour he had managed to get the selling price all the way to 70,000 USD. Why were they using USD? His adoptive father had taken a liking to the currency during one of his travels. Getting the price that high wasn't that hard.

All he had to do was tell Alexander that his grandfather wouldn't let him sell the spear for less than 7. What he hadn't told was that he meant 700 USD. The rest was just the girl leading herself to the grave. He just had to reaffirm the fact he wouldn't sell for less than 7 every few minutes and she dug the hole deeper.

Of course the reason he was putting so "Much" effort into was because Ichirou had promised him at least forty percent for negotiations. Of course the old man thought that he would at most have to pay out 280 USD, not 28,000 USD. In other words he was being a bit greedy, but hey he was twelve he had the right to be a bit of a money grubber.

Not that it wasn't fun to watch the older woman-she was what nineteen?- flounder about as he simply took a sip of tea and gave her a stern glare. Heck that was payment by itself! But the cash was quite a welcome bonus.

Chuckling mentally the blond took another sip of teas as he watched Alexandra flee from the room. 'Who knew being a negotiator could be so much fun?' He thought cobalt eyes glowing with mirth as they trailed the brown haired girl as she evacuated the room as if hell was behind her.

'It's about time I go to bed isn't it?' he thought looking at the black sky sparkling with the stars. Standing up from his chair he made his way back to his assigned room, never noticing as one star seemed to shine brighter than the rest.

* * *

Green eyes opened slowly as they stared out at the sky. Silvery hair cut short, as he looked out through the window of his abode. Eyes drifting lazily over the stars as he noticed a specific cluster light up. Eyes widening as his pupil narrowed, turning into a predatory slit.

He gave a wave his hand his black trench coat billowing slightly as a man's form materialized next to him. It was a third rate mage if he remember correctly. The man's tie was haphazardly tied around his neck, a worn dress shirt covered with holes along with a pair of glasses taped together after having been broken several times.

Eyes hollow the man finished materializing with a silent wind, before giving a bow. the green eyed man turned his gaze to the puppet. "Now what was it about the stars you were babbling about when we first met?" the silver eyed man asked. A malicious smirk on his face as poisonous chuckle came from his mouth, sending shivers down the spine of everything that heard it... even the dead man.


	5. 5 Heretical Homicide

He opened his eyes, sounds echoed through ears as he stared out unseeingly. Naruto hissed in agony as a stabbing pain shot through his skull, grabbing the source of his pain in hopes to quite, or at least dull the metaphorical knife buried within his skull. The muted sounds echoing in his ears Ignored in favor of clutching his skull as spots of light danced through his vision. He was rewarded with warm sticky sensation, as he pulled his hand in front of his eyes. He could feel his cobalt eyes widening in shock as he stared at his blood covered hand. Staring at the ruby liquid (and wasn't that a pretty color?) in a moment of shock, he forced himself to take in his surroundings.

The world was bathed in an orange flickering light, courtesy of the flames that now consumed the once beautiful shrine like a hungry wraith. Random bits of wood scattered about along with large chunks of debris now decorating the ground around him however he could make out nothing more due to his blurry vision. He could feel his skin prickle under the heat of the unnatural flames, Naruto's blue eyes scanned his body for any further injuries.

The Blond gave a sigh of relief as he found no serious wounds other than a few bruises. Sitting still he waited a few seconds for his senses to clear, a faint sense of relief encompassing hims as they returned to him. Only for him to nearly choke, as screams assaulted his ears like dull razors. Not your typical razors either, some part of his mind complained (a Part that had already embraced Insanity), as the sound of the recently mad tore away at his ears. No these razors just happened to be dipped in acid as well! All the while howls of some great beast, and an a roar of some epic monster grated on his ears even form this distance.

Tears clawed their way from his eyes as he grabbed the nearest thing that could possibly make it easier to stand. That Item just so happened to be the spear he had agreed to sell no less than eight hours before hand. With an tired grunt the blond had managed, to stand. Despite the fact he had no wounds he couldn't help but feel like he was weakening by the second, something proven when he struggled to even move.

He moved forward in a feeble motion with his impromptu cane, making an awkward clunking sound echo out with every step. It was not even four feet before he tripped on a rock, crumbling to the floor along with his make shift cane. It was a lucky thing too, as a black figure sailed over his head and into the wall behind him. Idly glancing at the now rubble covered figure, he couldn't help but note the silver gray hair, and distinctive trench coat now in tatters.

'What was his name again? Vobien, Vobine?' That was strange, he couldn't remember? Not that it really mattered at the moment. Heck he hardly recognized the man as the rather imposing figure he had met (Because he had met the man before, right?) previously. The man before him looked like he could barely hold consciousness, let alone kill the beast he had summoned. 'Serves him right.' The blonde though not really caring that the old man was his only hope for survival, though that was probably the head wound's influence.

In a slow sloth-like movement he was finally able to stand (with the help of the spear) once more. Pushing himself forward, the blond went on in a random direction. The clacking sound lost amongst the screams. He went on for what seemed to be days as slowly he stood on his own, the spear still grasped firmly in his hand. He didn't really know why he kept the spear, it would have been far easier to move if he dropped it… but something told him he'd be needing it very soon.

Naruto walked forth, not bothering to stop as he passed by, people giggling insanely, or even the people crying for help hands out reached as they begged him. Don't misunderstand, He wanted to help them, he wanted to make sure everyone was okay… but something was calling him further into the shrines ruins. Something was calling him, telling him that it wasn't what he was suppose to do. He wasn't suppose to help these people, no that was someone else's job. No, Naruto had something much more important to do within this destroyed shrine.

And he believed it.

Even as he got closer and closer to the inhuman roar, the terrifying source of the screams, he still believed in what the voice was telling him. However along his path he did find some solace. As he marched forward the spear in hand, he heard a faint humming noise. Halting Naruto scanned the wreckage, blue eye glowing with relief as he found the source of the sound.

It was a small rectangular device, emerald green in color as the humming sound came from the headphones plugged into the device. It was his Mp3 player! Most wouldn't find this very comforting as he fumbled with the headphones managing to finally push them into his ears. Normally Naruto would agree that playing with an Mp3 player when a heretic god-that was she called them anyway-was wreaking havoc to the area around you, was...( was... what was he thinking about again... was... was... Oh!) Was stupid!

But at the moment all he cared about was that he couldn't hear them anymore. The screams silenced as the music drowned out all the noise around him. No longer were the sounds playing with his sanity as he finally continued on his path. Naruto stumbled over the debris, and crawled through the massive amounts of destruction, marching on for what seemed to have been hours when he came across the place where it had all started.

The courtyard that had once been filled with greenery, and a sense of wonder, was now nothing more than a devil's playground. Dead bodies littered the stone floors, a pleased look on their faces, having been granted a some sort of reprieve from the torment around them upon death. Others simply laid on the ground, demented smiles on their faces as the beings mere presence grated away at there minds. Then their was the sparse few who had managed to retain both sanity and life. Most of them sobbing messes, or frozen in some blank state unable to understand (Or see) the carnage laid out before them.

In the center of this hell (what was hell again?) was a large green dragon, with eyes (Bringing forth the memory of blood red eyes, on gigantic fox colored like rust) of fiery ember. Enjoying the terror on the face of the child it was tormenting as it tossed her back and forth like a cat with a ball of yarn or a particularly interesting mouse. Several _small_ (Tiny, Insignificant, Irrelevant) cuts adorning it's body as it showed them off as trophies, from it's short encounter with Veiban(That was his name right?). A ring of thorny spikes around it's head like an infernal crown, it's leathery wings pulled against it's back as it played with it's food (what _bad_ manners!).

The blond walked forth stealthily navigating the blood (Where did all this blood come from?) covered court yard, his presence remaining unknown to the dragon. Several fires granting a glowing light to the blond as he got a closer look at the child the dragon was toying with.

He recognized her… yes he had met her earlier that day, in the garden. (Wh-why did that seem like so long ago?) Never-mind that's not important. What was her name again? (Mina something…)

Naruto Forcibly dispelled his errant concussion caused thoughts, as he gave the situation a closer look. The dragons muscles rippled under it's skin as it tossed the girl back and forth. Her sobs only increasing it's amusement. However the dragon grew increasingly frustrated as she stopped responding to its attempts at causing her distress. Mina was in a state of panic, her eyes wild (The Insanity growing every second) as she looked around for what the blond didn't know. The flawless look she had maintained when he had first met her, had been long abandoned, her hair was now matted with blood and dirt. Eyes puffy and red as tears marks scarred her face. Her once pristine dress now in tatters, several small cuts decorating her body like a twisted Christmas tree ornaments (That... Is a weird thought).

However the girl seemed to be acclimating to her current position, as each attempt to further her misery was met with less of a result each try. Finally the two story tall dragons seemed to have gotten bored with her as it dropped her to the ground. A gut wrenching snapping sound coming from her ankle as she hit the ground from a full twenty feet in the air. Mina's sob of pain attracted the best further, as it stared at her with what could be considered glee. But it seemed the dragons was still done with using her as it's toy. It's claws long and wicked as the descended towards the helpless girl, blood still glistening from it's last kill, glinting in the light like liquid rubies (So _pretty_ as they dripped down the dragons scales like red rain drops).

Some part of Naruto's mind told him to (Wait!), to not interfere with the girls fate, to (wait for a better opening!) to kill the beast. However every other part of his mind told it to _shut up_. Eh wasn't like anyone wanted its opinion in the first place… oh great now he was talking to the voices inside his head. That specific train of thought soon crashed, as rage over took both his conscious and subconscious mind. Pulling him towards a particularly insane thought pattern.

Music blasted in his ears (Why are you still listening to this!?) as he made his choice. He sprinted forward, his feet moving on their own as he charged forward. Years of training allowed him to a ready stance, purely on instinct just in time to take full advantage of his built up momentum. His feet making an almost silent squishing noise as he thrust the spear forward into the dragon's… behind.

The spear was a somewhat typical boar spear, the blade in it's bay leaf design, two lungs, or wings in place where the blade was attached to the shaft. Although upon looking closer, the wood used was a bit stronger than normal, and the spearhead was larger than usual, making it much closer to a bear spear, than a boar spear.

'Wait why the hell am I thinking about this?' Naruto asked rhetorically, as he thrust the spear forward only for the spear to glance of the dragon's steel like scales. The fact it even drew a drop of blood was a testament to the blondes strength considering each scale was about as strong as a bar of steel. It however had the desired effect, as the dragon's claws stopped a few sparse feet away from the sobbing Mina.

The Dragons ember eyes, instead turned to Naruto. It's teeth still shining with the gore( _Red_ and oh so _Pretty_ ) of it's last kill, as it hissed at him. It's tail swinging wildly behind it as it bared its teeth, the orange light glinting of it's emerald hide like tiny gems. A glance of wind blew through the clearing, bring with it a fresh blanket of snowflakes, as the dragon's tail whipped towards him. A sickening crunching sound echoing through the clearing, as the emerald appendage smashed into his ribs. His last thought before he was sent flying was in the end quite simple.

'Maybe I should have thought this through…'

His world was turned into a blurry mess as he tumbled through the air, his body flailing about like rag doll. His flight ending soon after as he crashed into a storage shed.. The wooden building collapsing under the force of his momentum as he crashed through the wreckage. Naruto gurgled out a short cry of pain, his body twisted in agony as metaphorical dagger's stabbed every inch of his body. A coppery taste leaking ever so slowly into his mouth.

His mind consisted of littler more than mush as he sat up, despite his body's cries of protest. Wincing slightly as he did so, he refused to look at his torso. The warm sticky sensation coming from what remained of his ribs was enough to know he wasn't in very good shape. But Naruto still willed himself to stand despite the pain that crawled through his body as he did so. Some of his life blood slipping down his arm as he grasped for the spear, his Mp3 player (No more music for you!) left little more than a shattered mess next to it.

The spear was in much better in comparison, it's worn shaft of ebony wood not even showing a new scratch, as he picked it up. The feeling of the weapon in his hands was comforting as he looked at the spearhead. Fresh blood present on the spearhead, the weapon itself seemed to give air of joy, Like it was happy to have drawn blood once more.

A new sense of strength enveloped the blond as he climbed out of the wreckage. His spear now glowing a light blue color, as he scanned the courtyard. Blood soaked the stone that made up the ground. Anything that was previously occupying the courtyard appeared to have fled with the now absent Mina. The dragon was expressing its thoughts on this fact through loud guttural roars, the very earth shaking beneath it's feet, as it let a out a gout of flames, turning the rubble around it in molten slag instantly and momentarily lighting up the court yard with the power of a sun.

The heat of it's breath, was so hot that the blond could feel his skin prickle under the sudden warmth. Considering the fact there was a sixty or so foot gap between him and the dragon, he really didn't want to be on the other end of it's mouth. 'Now that I think of it isn't this court yard a little… big?' He wasn't wrong either considering the courtyard was about the size of football field… "Why-y the hell does this shrine need such a large fucking courtyard!" he voiced his incredulity aloud. Not caring that his outburst had caught the dragon's attention, although that might have been the concussion talking… again.

The Dragon growled as it's eyes landed on his beaten but still living form. The fire light causing the scene to be all the more intimidating as the snow drifted down from the heavens. Viscous red liquid glistening on its teeth, as it's muscles tensed beneath emerald scales like a lion about to pounce. Naruto felt the spear vibrate in his hand as power was force-ably funneled into his body. He didn't know _where_ it was coming from, but he thanked whatever twisted deity that decided to help him.

The Great Serpent Shot forward like a bullet, as it cleared the distance between it in it's prey. Naruto did the same charging forward, uncaring of his wounds as the pain seemingly faded within his body. The Reptile gave a roar, of dominance as it met the blond in battle. Naruto following it's lead, without thought as he gave a one of the strangest battle cries of all time.

"STABBBYYY!"

His mind already to far gone, lost in the exhilaration of battle to care about his strange battle cry. The dragon's claws shot forward in preparation to skewer the blond as they swept forward in a wide, sweeping motion. The blond retaliated by swatting the claw aside with his spear. Blood pumping through his ears as if some someone nearby was playing a drum. His muscles finding new strength as energy was pumped into his body, from the spear, before the spear took the energy back.

The world blurred into a mesh of flesh, and steel. As he shot a thrust towards the serpent, the emerald scales he had struggled to even scratch before hand, now being bypassed with seaming ease. The Blue glow strengthening as the spear hummed louder light glinting off the bloody steel. He didn't think as he smacked the beast's jaws aside, no, he couldn't think as he fought on. No thought was involved as the blondes body _reacted_ on it's own, sending a flurry of thrust towards the Dragon.

But He was human, a mistake was inevitable.

And one mistake ended it all.

A spine shivering squelch, overcame clearing his body going numb, the cold invading his body as he looked down. The dragon's claws, wicked and sharp as they pierced his body. However there was no pain… 'That's strange' thought the blond as he looked up paying little to no attention to the blood spilling from his body. The great serpent was capitalizing upon his new found immobility, as it reared it's head back preparing another gout of flames of which it would release upon the blond. A sense of resignation washed over the blond. He was resigned to his death, _Content_ with the fact he had managed to save Mina (that... that was her name right?) and the other people in the courtyard.

But his moment of content came to a short end as he met the beast eyes.

As he saw the amused cackle glinting in it's eyes he knew… the dragon had been _toying_ with him it was _amused_ at his new found resignation. For the dragon this hadn't been a fight to the death, no this was just a momentary game it was playing to amuse itself. A game of blood that it had won with little to no effort.

The sense of resignation was forced to the ground as it was ripped to shreds. He grasp on the spear tightened as he switched to an overhand grip. 'No one.' he thought watching as the dragon brought it's head down, an infernal light that sent shivers down his spine leaking from it's mouth. 'And I mean no one!' the blond raged as the spears soft blue light, turned to a radiant, and blinding royal color. 'Messes with Naruto _Fucking_ Kusanagi!'

The dragon let the flames fly forth, just as Naruto threw the the spear. The spear flew through the flames even as Naruto screamed in agony, his body, and mind set a blaze by pain. Yet the blond's aim was true as the spear, shot forward tearing through the dragon upper jaw, and lodging itself in the dragons brain. Yet, (Being in the possession of Naruto) it didn't stop there as the radiant blue light expanded, with an intensity that would blind the average human as it released a concussive world shaking _boom_ (Well, that was loud).

The blond was thrown off the dragon's blood (Hey that's mine!) stained claws, his form barely recognizable as human. The explosion sending Naruto's mangled body crashing into the storage shed once more. The darkness consuming his vision, while blinding pain stole his thoughts as he tried to think… 'I-I'm Going to die!' was his last panicked thought before he passed into the black.


	6. 6 Mythology 101

_Naruto felt… Just a bit tired actually. Considering the last thing he could remember was being burned alive by a two story tall dragon, he was probably lucky to be alive at all. 'I should probably get up…' he thought mournfully, whatever the hell was sleeping on was heavenly. It like cuddling with a cloud, as he was wrapped in a blanket of sunlight. Warm and welcoming arms wrapped around him, another coming through his hair slowly in a comforting motion…_

 _His eyes snapped open as he found himself lying in the arms of a certain pink haired girl. He practically flew out of the girls arms as he stood a ready pose his face red with embarrassment. His mind not even registering the fact he was literally standing in a pure white space._

 _The pink haired girl just blinked as she found her arms suddenly empty, only to look up and giggle as she saw his red face. "Wh-who are you?" he asked shoving down his embarrassment. The girls giggle turned into a full blown laugh, completely un-phased by the fact she had just been letting a boy she didn't even know use her boobs as pillows._

 _However it seemed she decided to give the flustered boy a bit of mercy. "I am Pandora, the all knowing woman… or at least that's my title." she finished with a cheerful smile, "and you are my son!" Naruto blanched as he stared at the girl, "I Pretty sure you aren't my mother…" the girl just rolled her eyes "You have killed a god therefore your my child." Pandora stated petulantly, as she pouted in a very_ _adorable_ _fashion._

 _Naruto could immediately see the parallels between Ayame Ichiraku, Shizuka, and this Pandora. The main similarity being he couldn't say no any of them. He felt any resolve crumble before the girls cuteness. His mouth opened against his own will as he slammed his jaw shut, only for his last act of defiance to turn to dust as he saw the tears at the edge of the pinketts eyes._

" _Ugh damn my weak will… Okay M-Mom." he said practically choking on the word. The last time he had called anyone mom was sometime before the accident when he was four. But the effort was worth it as the girl's tears disappeared as she shot to her feet. An ecstatic smile on her face as she practically tackled the blond. "Finally one of my children Recognizes me!" she cried out joyfully, as she proceeded to crush the blond in a hug._

 _The blond in question, simply sighed having expected this reaction to some extent. Opting to just return the petite girls hug (It was rather nice). Now that he thought about it hadn't he seen her somewhere before? "Wait weren't you the girl at the airport." The Pinkette nodded into his chest, her hair flailing wildly as she did so. He waited a few more seconds in silence hoping she would elaborate further, only to realize she wouldn't be doing that anytime soon._

 _Finally he took a bit of time to look at his surroundings, only to find that he had been standing in an endless white void… 'How the hell did I miss that?' a sweat-drop going down his face as his eyebrow twitched. "Um Mom, where are we?" he asked. The girl pulled away from their embrace as she chose to sit on the ground instead. "We are currently in the boundary between life and immortality." His surrogate mother stated as she patted the ground beside her. Beckoning him to sit with her. Sighing in exasperation He chose the path of least resistance, sitting next to his new mom. 'This is gonna take some getting used to…' he thought only to be interrupted as Pandora continued. "You however would probably know it better as the place right before the after life." The blonde blinked rapidly, "Huh so I guess I did die…" Pandora smiled cheerfully "Yep" she said brightly before her face turned slightly more serious. "Thank you for getting rid of that troublesome, impossibility as well." Now that he thought about he did agree to fix her problem for her. "Well I said I would, and Naruto Kusanagi doesn't break his word." The Petite goddess giggled into her hand. "So…" The maelstrom paused "What does this mean for me?" he asked somewhat lost._

" _You have killed a god and therefore become an illegitimate child of which and a fool." She said happily, a graceful smile on her face. The blond however was only more confused, "Yes you've said that before, but what do you mean I've killed a god?" The pink haired girl blinked before her face took on an "o" formation. "I didn't think you'd forgotten that much…" the girl said sadly. Truth was Naruto couldn't remember the anything at all of the day he'd been having before he woke up in the pile of rubble. Sure their was brief flashes, of the vobine or whatever his name was, and some scattered conversations but that was it._

 _He must have been able to remember it before when he was killing the dragon, after all he'd called the dragon a heretic god, but that dragon couldn't have been a real god could it? The Young goddess sighed, as she looked towards the blond. "The dragon you killed was a subspecies of what human call heretic gods." She stated with some of her previous cheer. "Is a Subspecies because, it wasn't a heretic god yet it was at the same time." Pandora paused as if to think about the best way to explain it._

" _A God, is a conglomeration of human belief, or a mishmash of different stories. For example the god of victory, Verethragna, has some aspects of Hercules legend inheriting his immense strength. But at the same time Verethragna is a different god than Hercules... never mind I'm probably just confusing you." the goddess sighed "Basically through some quirk in the ley lines, and a never before seen arrangement of stars, a variant was summoned. Which was the actual goal My other son had in mind when he summoned the God, or dragon as you call it… However he bit off more than he could chew as you mortals say. As instead of summoning a somewhat stable heretic deity, he called a completely unstable existence that the very world was denying harshly. The Serpentine god was the embodiment of an act or, a concept." The girl nodded along with her own explanation._

" _The god in question embodied two concepts, or if four if you look at it another way. The Insane beast represented the Undying hero, and the Unkillable Serpent. Or in more frank terms, the hero who slays the dragon, and the dragon who kills the hero. The being obviously favored its dragon form, however that was not by choice. You see the world was, literally doing it's best to erase the being, consequently driving it insane-like most Heretic God, and further offsetting it's already fragile existence." a contemplative look on her face as she continued. "The deity would have actually died whether you killed it or not, as it would have only been able to hold its existence together for about an hour an half, so it would have only been in existence for another thirty or so minutes, if you hadn't killed it." A cheerful smile reformed on her face, eye's glowing emerald as she gave him a thumbs up. "Congratulations on saving the shrine from incineration by the way."_

" _W-what do you mean incineration!" Naruto yelled at the tiny goddess. "Well once the dragon ran out of time, the mass amount of energy that made up it's being would have destabilized, before being released in a massive, and very colorful explosion." Pandora announced in a manner not unfamiliar to that of a person talking about the weather. He could feel his eye twitch at the amount of things wrong with that one sentence. But he took a deep breath, calming himself down as he asked another question._

" _So what happens to me?" he asked resigned that he would never be able to associate the word normal with his life._

 _The goddess blinked, "You go back." she said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "But I thought you said I died…" What, was she going to shove him in his corpse or something? Well, he had killed a god so that was probably fair.  
_

" _You did." The goddess didn't seem to get his point, as she suddenly sat up right. "Oh looks like times up…" She seemed sad as she said this, her eyes losing a bit of their cheerful sparkle. "But before then I must give you your gift! Yes you did as I asked after all." The holder of certain very dangerous box nodded to herself. Her hand reached out as she suddenly put her hands onto his chest right above his heart. He winced as burning sensation broke over his chest, jumping away from the true deity as fast as he could.  
_

 _The goddess didn't seem to be phased as the boy jumped away from her grasp. "I'd explain further, but you probably won't remember anyways…" The girl sighed as she gave him a wave. For a split second he wondered why she was waving only for his question to be answered as the world turned black._

* * *

Five people scattered across the globe suddenly looked up to the sky as if sensing something.

One was calculative as he was jolted awake, shuffling the rubble off his tattered trench coat as he stared at the night sky. A sense of disappointment echoing through his head as he sensed his prey fade away no doubt killed by this new factor.

A second paused in the middle of a kata, sweat only just dripping down her brow after the thousandth repetition. Before the new development was ignored like a particularly annoying fly, in favor of continuing her warm up.

The third Looked up from the ground her walk disturbed by the momentary brightening of a certain star cluster. Only for her focus to be brought back down to earth as something drew her attention in, walking forward she took a peek at a small silver ball floating in mid air. Only for it to rip open sucking her into the unknown.

The fourth didn't stop his stride, as he glanced at the sky. Before disappearing in a flash, a single lightning bolt shooting off in the distance. Thoughts full of ways this new player could be used, or disposed of.

The fifth stilled as she was about to take a swig of alcohol she had… acquired through less than legal means. Thoughts being dragged back to her own ascension… before she let out a dry chuckle. "Took him long enough." she complained before taking another swig of her whiskey.

* * *

 **Authorities:**

 **[Amour of the Slayer]**

 **[Active/Passive]**

 **Description: The amour in its unrefined state, silver armor that appears to made out of some type animal scale, with a thorny crown that appears to have been hewn from some sort of animal bone. The crown has also shown the ability to transform into a helmet of some sort.**

 **In its refined state the armor takes the form of a emerald green jacket, that upon closer inspection seems to have been made from dragon skin. The crown follows the trend, turning into a round flat top hat with a small rim made from the same emerald material.**

 **Effects: The armor is extremely durable if not unbreakable, while also bringing the user's strength into the godly category, along with their magical capacity. This boost increases dramatically when in proximity with anything bearing the title "Slayer". Both forms grant the user a spear made from dragon bones.**

 **Cons: If damaged the armor can take up to a week to repair itself, unless magic is used to increase the repair rate. The armor is extremely heavy even in its refined state.**

* * *

 **[Ever living Hero/Unkillable Beast]**

 **[Active]**

 **Description: Changes Naruto's skin to that of an Unkillable Dragon, while strengthening any clothes on his body to that of an ever living hero's armour.**

 **Effects: Turns Naruto's skin into a state similar to that of a dragons, along with turning any clothes on his body rigid, and steel-like to the touch.**

 **Cons: May only be used once a day. Any clothes used with this authority will be unusually fragile for a time, and Naruto's skin will be increasingly sore, the longer the authority is in use.**

* * *

 **[Elemental Serpents]**

 **[Active]**

 **Description: Allows Naruto to take the form of one (out of six) serpent(s). Each serpent representing one of the six elements, (Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Electricity, And Spirit) Of which he can also summon separately as divine beasts.**

 **Effects: Naruto gains control of the represented element when in serpent form. By selecting a serpent without summoning it he is granted control over that specific element. He is able to take the form of a serpent.**

 **Cons: The Authority requires a one minute resting period between switching forms, Ignoring this has severe consequences.(The Authority will be sealed for one week, and his body is forced to deal with a rebound) If the ability is overused it will result in damage specific to the form or power over used. (I.E. over using fire would cause burns to surface, while earth would snap bones) Should A serpent be dispersed or killed by an outside force, it could take up to three months before it's form could be used or summoned.**

* * *

 **[Dragon's hoard]**

 **[Active]**

 **Description: Allows Naruto to pull small trinkets like gold, or platinum coins out of thin air, Along with Claiming an area as a hoard.**

 **Effect: Naruto can pull small amount of precious material into existence, as long as they are not bigger than the size of his head… However upon Claiming an area as his "den" a hoard will begin forming within the area marked. The longer the hoard exists the larger and more varied the precious items summoned will be. The user can sense if anything has been stolen from the hoard, and can teleport to any hoard that has been made.  
**

 **Cons: Claiming an area can take up to an hour. Extended use causes the user to be attracted to "Shiny" things. Naruto is extremely territorial of anything in the hoard and should anything be stolen from the hoard the consequences would be… dire.**

* * *

 **[Slayers Claim]**

 **[Passive]**

 **Description: Allows Naruto to claim his share of the kill.**

 **Effects: Grants the ability to usurp authorities from divine beasts, and subordinate gods.**

 **Cons: The Divine beast or subordinate god must give Naruto a challenge. The authority like all authorities gained from divine beasts, will be weaker than one taken from a god. It may only be used once per Month.**

* * *

 **[Dragon Killing Arms]**

 **[Active]**

 **Description: Allows Naruto to summon a version of any weapon that has ever killed a dragon.**

 **Effects: Any weapon that has been used to kill a dragon can be summoned.**

 **Cons: Any weapon that is broken cannot be summoned again until Naruto has killed a Dragon or Serpent. Naruto can only summon one weapon per use. The authority can not be used again until the current weapon has been dismissed or broken. Requires Naruto to sacrifice a small amount of blood.  
**


	7. 7 Draconic Negotation

As he awoke the blond was filled with confusion. For one, the last thing he remembered before the weird pink girl, was…

* * *

 _Pain wracked his body, his skin felt like it was being sheared off. 'What's that screaming? Wait that's my scream I'm screaming?' everything was on fire, even his panicked thoughts hurt him as he felt air whoosh by. 'Why? Am I in the air?' he thought only to crash into something, pain leeching away at his consciousness. Everything was burning, every nerve seared at him, clawing at his mind like cliche B movie monsters._

 _He could feel the heat ebbing away at his being, scratching away at his soul. Something icy ate at his chest, growing as it coiled around his heart. 'Why is everything so cold?' his mind halted as everything faded from his vision. 'I-I'm Going to die!'His thoughts growing sluggish as the black claimed his soul._

 _And with that Naruto Kusanagi died._

* * *

Bile rose in his throat, a cold sweat clinging to his body as he fought down the urge to throw up. Slamming his eyes closed he demolished the panicking emotions that wanted to simply lay down and cry. The emotions that told him to drown inside his self pity, and fear.

Forcing himself to think rationally, he managed to calm his ragged breathing. 'I-I died…' he said trying to work his mind around the simple fact. 'But I'm still here?' His mind bent in several ways that no human could possibly fathom before he managed to stop himself. Reasoning that he could drive himself crazy with this thought process at a later time.

Upon this he blinked in surprise when he felt a small amount of pain coming from his left hand. Something warm flowing between his fingers. Bring it to his face he winced as he realized he'd been clenching his fist hard enough to break the skin. Relaxing his fist he was faintly surprised to see the small crescent shaped cuts scab over and disappear almost instantly.

'Seams like my healing factor got, boost…' talk about an understatement. As he finally managed to wrestle himself under control, he noticed a… String? Yes that was the word. It was a sting attached to the back of his mind.

As soon as he directed his thoughts to it, information unraveled into his mind. They were his… **Authorities**. Don't ask him how he new but he did. They were the powers he'd stolen from a _God_ his six abilities, that made him a **King** … The word king tasted funny in his mouth as he felt two of his authorities pulse in response to the word. He could almost imagine two dogs sitting in front him, wagging their tails, as they begged to played with.

He however instinctively knew that the second authority, was not meant to be used inside of a building you were planning on using in the future. Some childish part of his mind was sad that he couldn't really use the second authority at the moment. But he shook it off as he called upon the first.

 **"The blood of the serpent is my claim!, I Call you forth from the depths of death, heed my Call! Forge a crown for my enemies to skewer themselves, Vile beast Protect Your Murderer!** _ **"**_

The words poured from his mouth, almost against his will as regal silver plate armor melted into existences around his body. Intricate etchings flowing over the unknown material as a thorny crown was woven into existence on his head. In that moment his eyes glowed a fierce blue as he took on the form of a warrior king. Power circulating around him, as he seemed to give off a sense of being beyond his years.

Any normal person would have bowed before him, for he could only be a king beyond such common peasants. However before anyone could stumble upon him like a cliche anime protagonist, the armor turned slightly luminescent, before it shifted into a simple emerald green jacket that went down to his thighs… Now that he thought about it was a lot like his Sixty pound coat.

Although the jacket weighed a lot more than the previously mentioned coat. Something proven when he took it off and set it on the bed, only for the sturdy structure to groan under the coats formidable weight. The blond shrugged it off before searching the room for something else to change into. A few minutes later Naruto had found a pair of black slacks, and a white shirt, before he threw them on. Slipping the jacket on over his new clothes, he was surprised to find something pushing against his chest, from the inside pocket.

Letting his curiosity get the better of him he reached in and pulled out a hat. The hat was flat top, short brim hat that vaguely reminded him of an American cartoon where a cat wore a similar hat. Not really thinking about it he set the hat onto his head, he could barley tell it was there. Slipping on the pair of sneakers he'd found earlier, he found them amazingly comfortable for new shoes.

The Relief of being fully clothed washed over him for a sparse moment, before he remembered his predicament. The blue eyed blonde currently had no idea where he was… or how he got there in the first place. Remembering the people he had been spending the past two days with (And more likely than not, the people who brought him here) had been unusually formal. As such the blond forced himself to look a bit more dignified, and in his opinion, utterly failed.

Mentally sighing the blond was about to open the door, when he felt a twinge in the back of his mind. It wasn't the string, No it was slightly different, more like something was calling out to him. No begging him to use it. Having no real idea on what to do,(The String of information having said nothing about this phenomenon) he "Tugged" on the feeling. Only to find himself reaching out to catch the spear he had use to kill the scaly bastard… or if what his new Mother (Boy was that weird) said was true, the conceptual bastard.

Laughing slightly, at his own joke the blonde observed the weapon he had used to kill a god. A stray thought entered his mind as he called upon another form of his authority. A wicked spear appearing in his hand as he did so.

The entire weapon was a pale bleach white, like sun bleached bones, the same length as the spear in his other hand. Before he willed the spear to follow his intentions. The wicked spear glowed slightly before he brought the spear he used to commit Dei-cide beside it. The bone white weapon rippled as he shoved the other weapon inside of it. By the time the process was finished the blond had a small bit of sweat on his brow.

However it was a success, as the bone white spear had become less… wild and slightly more refined, taking on a similar look to the boar spear. Deciding it was time he left the room, reaffirming his previous state of trying to appear dignified. Reaching for the doorknob he was once again thwarted, as the door was opened by someone on the other end.

A woman opened the door. She was young probably only just hitting her twenties, with soft brown hair light green eyes, and a light tan taking place on her almost flawless skin. She would have been utterly stunning if it weren't for two facts. The first was the glint of fear in her eye, like she was staring at a wild animal that could rip her throat out, her entire body was shaking like a leaf in a thunderstorm. Heck from just looking at her he could tell her pulse was skyrocketing.

The second was the maid costume she was wearing. Don't get him wrong he could appreciate a girl in a maid costume, this girl however was dressed in a hardcore fetishist maid costume. It was so bad if someone asked him to describe what was wrong with it, he would simply ask what was good about it. That and the fact she was actually scared of something turned any appeal the costume would give, into a straight zero.

Of course he was twelve, so didn't really understand a lot about the opposite sex, but even he knew something was wrong with this picture. "Uh… are you okay?" his mouth said before his brain had much time to work on the thought. The girl flinched, "Y-yes Your majesty." the woman said doing her best not to stutter, as she did her best to address him respectfully. He thought about pressing further for answers but dismissed the thought, as she caught his attention once more. "T-the marq-quis has called you to the m-main room just d-down the hall."

Blinking he gave a half-hearted "Thank you." before exiting the room. Making a lazy pace into the main room, he was vaguely surprised to find the new shoes surprisingly comfortable, as he walked down the hall. The walling, and flooring were a crisp mahogany, the middle of the hallway covered with a red rug with gold accents that no doubt cost more than his Gramps had made in his entire career. The hallway lit with old style electric lanterns, that gave it an old time-y feel as he slowly passed door after door. The blond thought it was beautiful, luxurious, something he should never have seen outside of dreams.

However an instinct itched at the back of his mind, telling Naruto that no matter how bright the light, it only made a darker shadow. If how scared the maid was said anything then the instinct was probably more right than wrong. His shoes patting softly against the carpet as he walked down the hall passing door after door, until he finally found the end.

As he walked out of the hall he entered what appeared to be a living room. Fully furnished with old style leather chairs, arranged in front of a fire place. Two older styled leather couches pushed were set up opposite the two chairs on either side of corner fireplace, several animal heads mounted on the walls, a flame roaring in the fireplace. A single beautifully crafted end table stuck between the two leather chairs and A worn chess set sitting on top of it.

It was a type of meeting room, the couches were put at such a way that if some were to sit in the chairs they were kept in sight, but still allowing them to enjoy the fireplace. The red carpet ending with the hallway as a large dark maroon rug that took up a large portion of this new room.

Several large windows allowing one to look out into the Swedish wilderness, snow clinging to the trees. Some of them almost buried in the snow, as elk trodden by unaware of their observers. This view was familiar to Naruto, telling him that he was still within the area of the shrine.

The falling sun told him that he'd slept in quite late, as it was nearing sunset. A single person's form draped over the left leather chair. Silver hair, glinting against the firelight, as the blond moved forward to announce his presence. The tattoo in his left hand burned as soon as he entered the room, however it remained hidden within his skin.

"Naruto Kusanagi, the sixth king." Naruto halted as the man continued. "Tests show his bones have been hardened to that of a dragon bone, his healing rate increased to an extreme, The speed of Brain scan shows an enormous leap in activity. Any and all scarring has disappeared as common for someone who has gone through rebirth as a campione, with the exception of three claw marks on his abdomen." He moved forward until he recognized the man in front of him. "Reserves of magic have grown to unheard of levels, muscles showing inhuman levels of strength." The man paused taking a sip from a previously ignored cup of tea. "At twelve years of age the king is the youngest recorded Campione to have been born in the last four hundred years." The man finished as he slapped a file down onto the end table.

"Voban." The blond said stiffly (Hey! I remembered it this time!). "Kusanagi." the man returned in a relaxed tone, gesturing towards the right leather chair. Giving a frustrated huff the blond joined the elder king, as he sat down in the chair. He almost immediately melted into the surprisingly comfy chair. The duo sat in continued silence, the elder taking the occasional sip of tea. "You Are taking this quite well, for someone so young." the marquis stated offhandedly, the blonde raised an eyebrow. "Handling what?" the older man merely rolled his eyes. "Being burned alive of course." the man said calmly as if he was simply talking about what he was going to eat tomorrow. "I do believe I ended up demolishing the building I was in, before I calmed down." the older man continued. "I was much older than you at the time as well… and I do believe the dragon's flames were much hotter than what Apollo was playing with at the time." Voban said putting a finger to his chin as if he was giving the thought a deeper look.

Naruto gave the man an incredulous look. "Don't look so surprised boy, Pandora's black sacrament is only available through the act of Dieing to kill a god." The man said as if he was lecturing a child. Relaxing ever so slightly the blond responded simply "I figured I could drive myself crazy later." the man paused before nodding like that was a socially acceptable answer. "What is a Campione." The elder once again paused before he answered.

"We are Godslayers, the Rakshasa raja, Devil Kings. We are beings meant to _Hunt_ divinity, We are beings meant to rule, We are beings meant to _dominate_." The Wolfish king pointed towards the green eyed girl, who'd returned sometime during their conversation. "If I were to tell her to do something, she would do it. Whether it be to jump of a cliff or to get on her knees and beg like a slutty little whore, it wouldn't matter, she simply would." Voban said simply, as Naruto eyes zoned in on the Marquis. "Are you talking from experience?" Thinly veiled disgust in his voice. The conversation however continued, even as the girl began to tremble tears in her eyes. Sasha Voban Scoffed "Such carnal pleasures mean nothing to me, no I was talking about one of our predecessors. The man had many an unwilling woman in his castle, he of course died shortly after his ascension having made one too many enemies."

Naruto clicked his tongue, "So, Why has the _great_ Voban put so much effort into explaining this to me?" The blue eyed boy asked with genuine curiosity hidden by a sarcastic remark. Voban Smirked viciously, "Campione only have one of three types of interaction, either ignore each other, make packs of non aggression, or fight till one of them dies. I'm simply waiting for you to make your choice." The devil king announced. His smile completely and utterly manic as he waited for the blondes answer.

The blond thought through his response… before sighing as he answered "Pack of Non-aggression I suppose." The marquis raised an eyebrow, "ah so that's your choice, Did you assume I would simply follow your path? Why shouldn't I simply eliminate you like the _nat_ you are?" The blond couldn't help it as he let out a hearty chuckle.

Pulling on some of the information the string had granted him the blond readied himself for what he was about to do. "Riddle Me this Voban." the boy said loosing another dry chuckle.

Releasing the massive stores of magic that had been granted to him from his rebirth. The magic flowed out of him, not in a crushing wave. But A mold-able miasma that took form as an aura around him and caused the Marquis to momentarily see an green dragon sleeping peacefully behind the blond. Only for it to snap a single impossibly large eye open. Revealing a pool of molten emerald as the boy spoke.

"What is a _wolf_ before a _**Dragon?**_ "

Voban was frozen as the blond reached over, and moved a pawn forward on the chess set. The maid passed out from sheer terror as he Stood up almost lazily before the blond began walking from the room and back into the hallway. However he halted at the door-frame, before looking back at the still frozen king.

"Your move _Marquis_."

* * *

 _Witenagemot Report:_

 _As of two months ago on January 3rd, 2009 The sixth king name unknown was born after killing a subspecies of the typical heretic god. The Black Saber Association has refused to give any information on the identity of the new king, along with any information on the authority gained._

 _They have shared with us the fact this king has managed a nonaggression pact with the First King. Marking Sweden as neutral territory, while the new king claimed no territory as of this moment in time. The agreement states that they are required to notify each other should they enter the others territory, along with killing any heretic god causing trouble should they be close while the other is a way. It also sates that should they ignore this, the pack would be rendered null and void.  
_

 _Another stipulation it that they must tell the other what authority they have usurped from a heretic killed in the king's domain while he was away. The god that the new king killed had no name and has been dubbed Ladon, until a more permanent name is chosen. The god is believed to have been created when Marquis Voban tried to summon a god during a time with too many unheard of variables._

 _FURTHER INFORMATION NEEDED._


	8. 8 Enter Blondy

As soon as he exited the room his body turned slack, falling against the door he pressed his back against the somewhat ornate door that lead to the source of his mental exhaustion. He let out a strained sigh, running a hand through hair out of habit. ' _I didn't think negotiations with that wolf would be that stressing._ '

Despite the fact that he'd only left the Marquis's company barely a few hours before hand, he couldn't help but feel like that conversation had happened ages ago. Of course, the three hour negotiating session that came afterward probably had something to do with it. The blond however was just grateful he'd gotten hour long break before the Marquis had shown up, and started a new session.

He felt a certain amount of joy when they'd finished negotiations for their pack of non aggression. In the end it was rather easy to get the Marquis to agree on his term, but the old wolf still proved to be quite adept at word play. The proof of the matter being the terms the old man had weaseled in. None of them being highly unreasonable, but still benefiting the Wolf of a man more than the Kusanagi.

Needless to say it was a very hard fought ba-er Conversation. Either way, Naruto would need to get up to scratch with his negotiation skills. It was disappointing for a dragon to be out witted by a wolf, and while the comparison had simply appeared in his mind mere hours before hand. He rather liked the symbolism, and would prefer to live up to it.

He massaged his neck as he pulled his back off of the surprisingly comfy door. Sitting up Naruto walked to the exit. Pushing it open he took a deep breath of the chilly noon air, as he walked around. No one really taking notice of him as he walked towards the wreckage of the court yard. Navigation his way through the mix of buildings that were still in relatively good condition and scattered debris.

Stumbling over a pile of demolished plywood the blond almost tripped when he finally saw what remained of the overly large court yard. The once pristine stone that made up the courtyard was stained a rustic ruby color, large cracks scattered over the ground. Several foot shaped imprints revealing the actions of the dragon, while other parts were made into a weird wavy, and uneven texture like it was liquid frozen mid action. The result of the dragons barbecue breath no doubt, scratches littering the ground, probably from Voban. But despite the bloody outlines that showed where bodies had been resting, despite the ashes that were still drifting through the air, and resting on the ground.

Despite this, the most shocking and horrifying thing in the courtyard was the large black stain on the ground. The fire had burnt so hot that the black area had been turned liquid for a short amount of time, before it had cooled. However within this black spot was an area that had remained untouched, and unscathed by the fire.

An area in the vague shape of a human.

His outline had literally been imprinted into the stone by the dragon's raging fire. An image flashed through his head, pain assaulting his skull as he fell to one knee. His hands slammed down on his ears, his eyes almost rolled into the back of his head.

It was a memory of the exact second the fire had washed over his body. Phantom pain enveloped his body, he could feel it as the fire chewed on his skin, a searing sensation coming from his chest.

It was over in barely a second as he became aware of his surroundings once more. His breath was ragged as he noticed the cold biting away at his body heat. despite the fact it wasn't really successful, it brought his attention to the fresh snow that was falling around him. Standing on unsteady feet, a head-rush momentarily blurring his vision as he walked forward. He paused when he'd neared the scorched stone, kneeling he ran his fingers over blackened ground.

A sound caught his ears, as he turned toward the wreckage of the storage shed. It was faint, almost inaudible to human hearing, but it was there. Naruto was sure he wasn't hallucinating, as he stood up and headed towards the shed. As he got closer he could still see a sparse few embers hidden in the debris of the shed. Shoving a piece of the sheds walling out of his way he could hear it getting louder. Digging into the wreckage he wouldn't have been surprised if he looked one of those cartoon dogs. It didn't take him long to find what was making the sound as the gibberish, became more than just garbled sounds.

It was the laughing cat ringtone, as he finally ripped his prize from the mound of dirt and wood, sending a burst dust into the air. Coughing he waved his hand trying to clear the dust cloud as he redirected his attention back to his reward. It was green smartphone, the screen was large but overly so with a slightly singed green phone cover over the back. The blond felt his eye twitch as he realized what it was.

'This is my cell phone.' he let out an exasperated groan. Don't get him wrong he was happy to find it still working, if slightly melted. But there was just one problem, "How the hell did this thing survive? I get that it fell out of my pocket when I crashed into the shed. But how the hell did this thing survive impact?" an impact witch had reduced his rib-cage to splinters he might add. He was drawn back from his conversation with no one when the phone rang again.

Glancing at the screen, he almost tripped as he read that Gramps was calling him. ' _Oh shit!_ ' he screamed mentally as he clicked the answer button. "Uh… Hi?" he said lamely only to hear a gasp on the other end. "Naruto! Is that you? Are you okay? Is everything okay?" He had to take his ear away from the phone with how loud, Ichirou was asking. "Uh yeah I'm fine, I just er found my phone, Could you calm down and explain why you're freaking out?" He was honestly clueless, it wasn't that he hadn't called. He'd gone entire weeks without calling so that probably wasn't the problem considering he'd only been knocked out for a day. "I'm sorry Naruto, it's just we heard about the terrorist bombing at the shrine you were at… and we were getting worried when you didn't return our call… I-we were beginning to think… to think." His almost impervious Grandfather was practically having a breakdown on the other end and he didn't have a clue as of what to do. "Old man you might, want to sit down, you're almost acting your age." the blond said his own lame attempt at lightening the atmosphere.

But it seemed to work as the older Kusanagi gave half hearted laugh. "Thanks Kid I needed that." Ichirou announced thankfully. "So what going on over there?" the blond almost descended into a panic. ' _What am I supposed to say_?' rubbing the back of his neck he let a nervous chuckle. "Uh everything's fine here, I sorta just woke after being knocked out…" he almost smacked himself when he heard his adoptive father take a worried gasp. "Nothing big to worry about, I'm perfectly fine. Don't give yourself a heart attack or anything." Naruto said trying to avoid the time bomb he'd just dropped on himself.

"I won't be giving out any time Brat," The old man said gruffly, "I-I better go I need to go and tell Godou and Shizuka that your… that your fine." Swallowing the part of his mind that told him to keep the elder on the line the blond just gave choked up "Yeah I'll talk to you later." when he heard the clicking sound that typically meant the call had ended, he let his arm go slack uncaring as his arm dangled beside him. "Stupid dragon's! Fucking Mages! Why can't life be easy?"He yelled at the top of his lungs, complaining to nothing.

"Well than life wouldn't be fun would it?" He turned his, not particularly surprised to find a bandaged Alexandra staring down at him from a pile of debris. Her clothes somewhat ragged, while her hair was going it's best at attempting to imitate a furby that had been zapped with lightning, and while the bags around her eyes, were plainly visible against her pale skin. "Don't apply your logic to me mortal." He said sarcastically rolling his cobalt eyes. The brown haired girl paused as her skin paled even further as she fell into a bow, A black haired girl, that he hadn't seen before hand following her lead. Oh great were they taking his sarcasm seriously?

"I'm sorry I didn't recognize you your majesty." Announced the caramel eyed woman, voice trembling slightly as she tried to pat down her hair. Much to tired, both physically and emotionally the blond just gave her a blank stare. It went unnoticed however as they just started to shake silently under his gaze, as she continued her speech. "Please do not take you anger out on the shrine, I hold full responsibility please punish me and no one else." Naruto wasn't even surprised anymore, the girl did seem to be the type to make her job her life so it wasn't that off setting she would offer her own life in place of everything she'd accomplished. Naruto however was much too tired to even make an attempt at being tactful.

"You do realize by doing the whole majesty thing you just made me a lot more angry, than simply not realizing my position right?" it was only when he noticed both woman shaking like leaves did he realize that sentence hadn't helped anyone. But once again he was much too overloaded to really care about other people's feelings. "I mean Seriously I'm twelve I have no need of an ego boost! Stop calling me Majesty or whatever…" and now he was rambling just great. Although he couldn't help but find her whole idea that he was going to destroy a shrine simply because she didn't realize who he was at sight utterly stupid. Only around twenty people in the shrine knew that he was a Campione at all. Thanks to Voban's interference most of them simply thought the Marquis had killed the god… thingy.

Now that he thought about he should probably do something to maintain his anonymity. Following that thought he Reached inside his jacket pocket, with the simple thought of maintaining his anonymous status. What he pulled out was a simple necklace with a braided cord with a single pendant hanging on to it. He immediately knew what the necklace did, after all it would be strange that a dragon didn't know the purpose of what it was keeping in it's hoard.

The necklace by itself was worth quite a bit of money, as the pendant was made of pure platinum, forged into the shape of the "Juubi's eye" whatever the hell that was, and enchanted with the specific purpose of maintaining his own anonymity, with a couple of mildly amusing side affects. Mostly just driving the stupidly weak willed insane. (...Maybe this coming back from the dead thing had effected him a bit more than he thought?)

The blond however was just increasingly happy that he'd gotten **[Dragon's hoard]** as an authority. After all it let him summon valuables, and what could be more valuables than an item enchanted with a forgotten spell? He paid no attention to the girls as they managed to recompose themselves seemingly realizing he wasn't paying attention to them, slipping the necklace on lazily. It wouldn't prevent people that already knew he was a Campione from realizing it, but it would make it impossible for most others to figure it out without him telling them.

His attention was brought back to reality as Alexandra and her company addressed him. Turning to face the girl he raised an eyebrow, she was wearing the standard garb of the shrine maidens her hair brown, like Alexandra's while her eyes remained a much lighter blue than his own, probably a year or two younger than him. Her skin was pale in an unhealthy way, fingers twitching like she was in the sights of a rabid animal. "What did you just say?"

The girl seemed to freeze her breath becoming more panicked, as she played with her hands nervously. She spoke again, her voice trembling and barely above a whisper. Putting a hand up to his ear, "Speak up, I can't hear you." The Girl's body looked like it was going haywire as she opened her mouth and screamed at him. "What! What were you thinking when you killed it, how did you kill it! How did-Could I have- Would it…" the girl stopped holding back tears as she locked her eyelids shut, falling to the stoney ground with a thumping sound.

The blond proved himself to be worthy of his title as Epimethius's child as he shoved Alexandra away and wrapped the young girl into a hug. One hand pulling the girl into his lap as the other was ran through her hair. The girl didn't really seem to care that she was literally being held in the arms of a natural disaster, as she practically crushed him with a hug.

Patting her back as she sobbed into his shoulder, In all honesty he had no idea what he was doing so he just did what he used to do for Shizuka when she was sad. So he sang a song, it wasn't really fit for the situation but it worked. It was an old lullaby that he could remember his mother from this dimension singing him when he was younger.

The only witness to this scene was the eighteen year old Alexandra Olsson, the mournful song echoing in her ears. Nature itself seeming to respond to his voice as the snow wrapped the young king and the girl on his lap in a tear rending embrace. In later years she would claim this to be the first sign in a plethora of clues, that Naruto Kusanagi was no mere human.

He was something _more_ , something _Better_.

For he was a _kind,_ Campione and wasn't that just _terrifying_?.

* * *

She pulled her long blond hair from her eyes, as she looked at the remnants of the Swedish Dragon Shrine. She sighing she fell back into her seat, waiting for the car to stop. It was several minutes later that she finally stepped out of her car paying the cabby as she did so. A large red winter coat around her shoulders as her red winter boots made squelching sounds against the mud.

The symbol of the copper black cross imprinted on the back of her coat. Black pants skin tight against her legs as she walked forward. Finding the person she was looking for, she tapped her shoulder, drawing the woman's attention away from the person she was talking to. The somewhat strained smile on her face fell as she saw just who had shown up.

"Erica, what are you doing here?" she asked tonelessly, as she eyed the blue eyed girl in front of her. "Oh whatever could you mean Alex?" she said in a tone of false innocence, a smile that some would comparable to that of the devil's on her face. Alexandra rolled her eyes as she glared at the young blond. "We both know you hate Sweden in the winter, and the only other reason you come other than pleasure is work, now what do you want." The eleven year old girl just sighed her face morphing into something resembling seriousness.

"The copper black cross was curious and Papa thought it would be a good experience for me." The girl admitted offhandedly, as she played with her hair absentmindedly. Alexandra however sighed, palming her face out of misery. "I can't help but feel like you're holding something back Blandelli." the blond just smiled like the cat that caught the canary. "Now whatever could you mean?"


	9. 9 Lost boy Syndrome

Naruto Kusanagi didn't really know how long he'd been holding the young girl, just that she'd literally cried until she fell asleep. He also wasn't quite sure why he was lugging her around like a sack of potatoes.

However even as the girl drooled on his shoulder, his legs around her thighs as he carried her piggyback style-their was still an upside.

What was this ever so small silver lining? In the end it was the simple action of comforting the girl had resulted in Alexandra… Loosening up? Yeah that was probably the best way he could put it. Oh yeah that and he'd found out that the armor of the slayer was tear proof…

But back to the previous topic.

He grunted slightly as he laid the girl down in one of the many un-used rooms of the mansion he'd been sleeping in only a few hours ago. Being campione had its privileges, and that meant he could literally have huge party, that would destroy the mansion and no one would complain... unless they had a death wish or something. After all campione were viewed as biblical monsters that would kill you at the drop of a hat.

In comparison, setting aside a room for an exhausted little girl was quite tame when compared to most of the things he could get away with now, but it was nonetheless within his power. Of course so was setting entire countries on fire, but he preferred to not think of that headache.

Despite how well he was adapting to his situation, Naruto still couldn't help but find it odd that his arms weren't the least bit tired. After all it wasn't an everyday event when a kid could say he'd just carried a girl the same age as himself, for around two to three hours. With the fact he'd been tearing into a pile of debris made up of pieces roughly three to four times his size, just to find his cellphone the entire situation just became straight up weird.

He shrugged-who was he to complain?- and left the girl alone in her new room. During the time he'd been hauling the girl around, he hadn't been entirely idle. From the now relaxed Alexandra he'd found out that the deal had been agreed upon a few hours before the "Conceptual asshole" had been summoned.

As it turned out it was pure chance that the spear had landed by him at all, heck the math stated that the spear should have landed several _hundred_ miles north of the shrine, if it wasn't simply incinerated when the _god_ had landed right on top of it.

He'd also been informed that the money had already been transferred into his adoptive father's account, and his own respectively. The somewhat vicious smile that appeared on his face as he thought about the subject, proved that the greedy aspect of his personality took far too much pleasure in the fact he'd gotten both the spear and the money.

After that Alexandra had proven to quite helpful with piecing together what had occurred before he'd woken up in a pile of rubble.

As it turned out, Justina merest? Jeremiah merope? Eh whatever the hell the guy name was had tried to empower himself with the power of the spear. The spear itself having the been an experiment by some long forgotten Campione, for the single purpose of killing gods and other Campione.

What the spear did to accomplish this was in the end quite simple, but no less ingenious.

The spear would "Steal" magic from the blood of said God or Campione, before forcing it into the user. Forcibly expanding the user "Reserves" of magic until it they were full and then added the tiniest bit more to stretch them even further. The excess magic was then stored into the spear had the bonus of repeating the process every time, blood was drawn meaning the enemy would get progressively weaker with each strike with the added bonus of empowering the user and stretching their reserves beyond normal human standards. However there was still a problem with this.

It may have been enchanted by a campione but it was still mortal magic, and thus incapable of even cutting a god without a specific enchantment. Something the god-slayer had reacted to by cursing the weapon with one of the few mortal spell that would allow a weapon to at least harm a god.

The enchantments when separate, weren't even a threat to a god. This was where the Godslayer had shown his genius as when mixed together, the weapon could draw blood from a god therefore absorb some of the gods magic. In other words by absorbing divine power the weapon itself became a **[Divine Weapon]** and as such it held the power to kill the heretical existence. The explosion of power that turned the deity to dust, was just all the power in the spear becoming unstable since it required physical contact to remain stable.

Justine something or another, had been aiming to absorb/slash bind this power to himself, thus making it possible for him to kill a god/campione. In the end the man had clearly miscalculated. For one just because it was _possible_ to kill a god, did not mean it was _likely_ after all it had been possible to kill gods for several hundred thousand years, but there was only six or so people that had accomplished it, and survived more than a day afterwards in recent history.

It was almost like rubbing salt into a wound when you added the Marquis's appearance into the equation. But it was plain old adding insult to injury when Naruto's presence was mentioned at all. In the end Naruto was an impossibility, a body with a soul and a half. It was only logical that an impossible existence, would do the impossible.

Right?

Of course the guy hadn't known that the Marquis would barge in right in the middle of explanation of the ritual and why he was doing who knows what with the spear. The brown haired woman couldn't actually tell him much of anything at that point because as she put in her ever so eloquent way.

"I wasn't paying attention."

The blond let a full blown grin envelope his face, a few beams of light catching his worn gold hair and his Blue eyes sparkling mischievously. Don't give him that look, you imagine the ever so strict girl in your classroom openly admitting that she didn't pay attention to a teacher with a blank face, and a slight blush on her cheeks! It was like something from Manga for god's sake!

He shook himself from such thoughts, it wasn't the time to laugh at the strict girl. No at the moment he was going to practice the only spell he knew. It was called instruction magic, and strangely enough he was taught by Voban of all people. The 1st king was actually a really good teacher, when it came to magic at least.

Of course the man only taught it to blond because he didn't want to waste time filling him on everything he was missing. ' _Crazy Old bastard!'_ The emerald wearing blond cursed. Learning instruction magic was quite helpful, as it meant that any information he learned through the magic was engraved into his mind, permanently.

Having the spell cast on him would have limited the spell, as even though Campione's magic resistance didn't have much of an effect on things ingested didn't mean it didn't have an effect. As the only way to cast the spell on a campione would be to kiss, the spell would get through just barely, but the information would only be temporary.

Of course normal people couldn't use the spell much without risking brain damage, but thanks to being a campione he could literally use the spell all day long with no trouble… well he'd get a headache but that was it. ' _We campione are rather Over Powered aren't we?'_ he said sweat dropping as he realized the possibilities of just this one spell if used correctly. It was just plain common sense that he would be abusing the shit out of the spell to.

He was an avid follower of using everything at his disposal after all… when he wasn't being lazy that is. *Thunk*

"...Ow" he complained, holding his nose in pain. Blue eyes flaring with utter hatred at the wall he'd run into, far too lost in thought to even notice the wall existed beforehand. Naruto sighed, moving away from the wall and towards his actual destination. He couldn't find it in himself to work up enough irritation to distract himself from his goal.

The kusanagi Idly trailed his hand against the wall as he walked, only the sound of his feet beating against the wooden floors. Other than his new ability to engrave information directly into his grey matter, nothing that could be considered interesting had happened. A warm bubbly feeling however forced him to retract that statement.

It was a warm homey feeling-like he'd just been hugged by mother…- that welled up in his chest. Begging to be released, to be let out of it's cage… It was such a pleasant feeling that he couldn't stop himself as he pulled on the emotion-the power that was now resting in his chest. The strange Tattoo surfaced on his left hand as he put his arm out-palm up. A ball of pure white fire appeared in his hand, Glowing with heat as it radiated warmth.

Unnoticed to Naruto his Irises had become similar to that of a cinder. That is to say coal black with veins of fire webbing his eyes. Longing to _consume_ all that was around them. The fire slinked its way down his arm, spreading all over his body-wreathing his body in pure white flames, as it flickered back in forth as if pushed by a non-existent wind. However even as it covered him, spreading over the floor, attaching itself to the expensive carpet. Even as it creeped up the walls and covered the ceiling… nothing was burned.

Naruto could _feel_ the fire, as it licked longingly at his surroundings. The flames were treating this entire situation, as if they were children-their faces pushed up against the glass of a display case, of an ice cream shop. Pouting in a cute fashion as they asked if they were allowed to have some. The symbol for fire glowing a hot red on the back of his hand.

' _So this is the_ **[Elemental Serpents]** _Authority'_ he thought idly as he commanded the flames to disperse. Even as the unnoticed burning sensation faded from the back of his left hand, the red glow disappearing with it. He could still feel the authority ever so subtly trying to coax him into using the authorities other abilities. To dive in and turn into something beyond human, to _become_ the beast.

He could tell it wasn't doing it out of any malicious meaning, no the authority was closer to a very needy animal. Like a dog begging to be played with, or a cat rubbing up against your leg, it was just trying to catch his attention.

Lost in thought the blond continued on, navigating the many halls of the shrine. An idle glance told him the Tattoo had resurfaced, as he commanded it to disappear. Responding it sunk back into his skin once more. Random thoughts still hazing his mind, his feet moving with a mind of their own.

It was however the feeling of a cold wind brushing his skin that knocked him from his mind.

"Uh… this isn't the Library."

* * *

Alexandra sighed, her eyes trailing her Italian companion as she worked the crowd. Or at least that was the Swedish Native's opinion.

The Diavolo rosso in all but name, was currently acting the part of young child cheering up the wounded people who had yet to be brought to the hospital. Her blue eyes sparkling with something most would mistake for innocence, and kindness. Not that the girl wasn't kind or innocent in her own way, it was just that at the moment both emotion were a mere act.

What the sparkle represented wasn't a child's innocence, it was much closer to that of an actor appreciating their own talent. The girl wasn't here to be a kind person, she was here to leave a lasting impression. Erica Blandelli was here to implant the idea that the **[Copper Black Cross]** was an ally. A trusted organization that was willing to do whatever possible to help.

Alexandra had no doubt that Erica held just as much distaste for what she was doing, as Alexandra did. But it wasn't the girl's choice, she had no say in this matter. You could even say it was a test for the younger girl, as Alexandra doubted that the prideful girl had lied when she said her "Papa" had thought it would be good for her.

She was also quite sure that the girl wasn't here on just the **[Copper Black Cross]** 's behalf. Of course she could go on for hours if she wanted to list all the different reason the girl could have for coming to Sweden, but that was the only one she was sure of.

The brown haired girl groaned into her hands as she rubbed her aching head. ' _All I wanted was a day to relax after witnessing a god descend, but No!'_ she drawled in her mind sarcastically ' _I had to run into the youngest Devil King, just on time to watch Audrey to break down!_ ' She thought in annoyance ' _Don't even get me started on the headache all of his questions gave me, but of course the annoying blandelli had to show up just as it was fading!'_

The girl who had been making rather enthusiastic gestures sighed, as her shoulder dropped like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Pulling her knees up to her chest the brown haired girl rested her head on them. She wasn't quite sure when she'd sat down on the bench overlooking the mass of people looking for medical attention, but it was welcome none the less.

Resting up against the wooden backrest, she released a yawn. Reaching into her pocket she pulled out her phone, flipping it open her eyes shot open as she realized she hadn't slept in well over twenty for hours. An overwhelming dreary sensation overwhelmed her, as her body molded itself into the bench. She knew it wasn't the smartest thing to fall asleep outside in the middle of winter, her eyes drooping slightly. ' _Maybe it would be fine?'_ was the traitorous thought that shut her eyes completely, ' _Just this once.'_ a cold wind flowed over her skin as the black consumed her.

The last thing she heard as her mind exited the world of the conscious, was mixed with confusion and no small amount of exasperation.

"This isn't the Library…"

* * *

Erica Blandelli was absolutely sure of one thing as she gave an innocent smile to an old man as he carted into an ambulance.

Her face hurt.

She hadn't even been here for more than two hours and she was sure she had smiled, more times in the last ten minutes then she had in her entire life beforehand. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, hell normally she would congratulate herself for doing something like that. But the problem was that every single smile-Innocent, mischievous, or superior they all shared one thing, they were fake.

So fake that wasn't sure how any of the people here had bought the act.

Don't get her meaning wrong, the blandelli was quite sympathetic to the people here. A heretic god descending was quite a horrible event, and she most assuredly felt for the people affected. If she wasn't here on an assignment she would have ended up helping anyway.

But she was sent here to leave a lasting impression of helpfulness, and innocents. Meaning she couldn't act like her normal haughty self. As a result she couldn't express herself in her usual manner which resulted in everything she did, being at least somewhat fake. To be honest she absolutely loathed this mission. Sure there was the secondary mission of scoping out potential mages, after all it wasn't uncommon to find normal people had become at least potential mages after the decent of a heretical god.

She shivered as the cold air brushed up against her. In all honesty she had no idea how Alexandra could be outside in nothing but a suit. Even with her heavy duty winter gear the crimson girl could feel the cold bite into her body like a rabid wolf... when had she become poetic?

"This isn't the Library…"

Erica Blinked at the absurdity contained in that one sentence. Her eyes found the source of the sentence almost against her will.

It turned out to be a boy around her age-probably a year or so older- dressed in a emerald green coat that went down to his thighs, black pants and a white shirt along, with a flat top, round green hat atop his head as he blinked, looking at his surroundings.

Only to pause as his eyes found the form of Alexandra Olsson, curled up in a ball on a bench. Erica watched as the boy tilted his head in a manner similar to that of a cat-or maybe a fox?- as he walked towards the girl. The golden blond girl had hold back a chuckle as the boy poked at Alexandra.

"Alexandra?" He poked her head "You their?" another barrage of pokes were sent at the sleeping Olsson. "Earth To Alexandra?" Before the boy let loose a sigh "and… she's dead to the world." the boy shoulders fell as he groaned much to Erica's amusement. "I'm going to have to carry her inside aren't I?" The boy mock cried as he mumbled to himself. "What is with me carrying girls today? Is it like my calling card or something?" he mumbled hopelessly "Maybe it's the theme of the day?" he wondered, trying to figure out just why he had to be the one to carry her.

Erica withheld a snort as she moved to follow the boy.

' _This should be interesting.'_


	10. 10 Foreshadowing Madness

_Three Months since the birth of the Sixth King_

* * *

Alice chewed her lips distractedly, as she stared out the window of her room. Seeing as her "condition" hadn't allowed her to be fully conscious for over two months after overexerting herself, she was quite glad to see the warm light of the sun bathe the snow covered form of England during the winter.

However recent events would not let her sleep.

Glancing down upon the red satin sheets that pooled in her lap, the drapes around her four poster bed open wide as to allow the sun to warm the room… and to consequently lighten it as so she could read the report in her lap.

A manila folder secured around the stray bits of paper paper clipped together. Inked upon the paper was the source of her worries. It was the entirety of what the witenagemot knew of the mysterious sixth campione.

It had been three-almost four-months since the sixth king had been crowned, and all they had to show for it were two measly reports along with several notes that all reiterated the fact that they knew nothing.

This wasn't much of a problem though, after all they'd already dealt with the eccentric fifth king, whose identity they still didn't know.

No what worried the greatest which among the heavens, was the second report, and newest edition to the folder.

* * *

 _Witenagemot Report 2nd Entry_

 _As of today Marchy 24th 2009 we have confirmed that the First & Sixth King have fought in a battle as to confirm their pact of nonaggression. The duel resulted in a favorable draw, with each king reaffirming that they saw each other as equals._

 _Witnesses agree that both kings left on agreeable terms, both kings having followed the rules of the bout exactly. At least according to the witnesses as they refused to expand upon the subject._

 _A Request for further investigation has been sent out by the field agents, in order to ascertain the Campione's identity as the_ _ **[Black Saber Association]**_ _has continued to deny any request for more information._

* * *

Alice sighed as she once again turned her attention back the snowy view of London. Hands playing with her golden locks, it was not long before Her eyelids began drooping slightly as her frustration took it's toll on her already strained body.

She however resigned herself to sleep.

She couldn't do anything at the moment anyway, her body far to strained to even attempt making a spirit body at the moment. That and a vague whisper in the back of her mind that told her she wouldn't of found anything anyway.

It was however in the depth of sleep, that she did see a vision of a king… the seventh king, the Idiot king.

* * *

 _Three Months earlier_

* * *

Giving an explosive sigh Naruto pushed open the mahogany door, that lead into a finely furnished spare room. A four poster bed with the curtains drawn open, to reveal elegant white silk sheets. Merely shrugging at the lavish room, he shuffled over to the bed his shoes padding softly against the fluffy gray carpet.

Swiftly peeling the silky sheets apart he slipped the unconscious girl under the covers. The fact that he was only twelve, and he'd just lifted an eighteen-ninteen year old woman like it was nothing didn't even phase him as he tucked her into the cover like Aunt Chiyo had taught him to to do with Shizuka.

The brief image of his eight year old cousin, carrying around a tray of tea painted itself in his mind as he felt both the warmth of happiness, and a strange ache surface within his chest.

During his self imposed exile he'd missed quite a lot hadn't he? Far too much.

Shaking his revelry away he slipped down into the single chair present within the room. Sinking into the fairly comfortable chair, he let himself relax into his seat for a moment. He could feel a yawn bubbling up his throat, along with a burst of drowsiness before he shoved the feeling down.

Why the heck was he drowsy anyway he'd only woken up like six hours ago after all… Maybe it was all the sleeping girls he'd been carrying? Well it was only two, but still. Or maybe it was because he'd been knocked out? He remembered reading that being knocked unconscious was very different from genuine sleep.

Of course there was also the possibility that he was just being lazy.

Stretching out in his chair he let out a long yawn, before deciding that it didn't matter either way. After all Naruto wasn't going to sleep just yet. He forced himself to his feet. No he had some research to do on his moronic older siblings.

Something that's apparently going to have to wait… again.

Why? Cause Naruto felt himself unable to fight off the warm sleepy sensation that had finally pushed it's way to the front of his mind, as he crumbled into the chair. His mind overcome with the soft whispers of sleep, and his last memory being a soft giggling noise that was most familiar.

* * *

Erica Blandelli wasn't all the sure why she had followed the boy, carrying Alexandra. Just the foggy thought that it would be amusing if she did. As it turns out though, it was just about anything other than amusing… if you ignored the boy as he grumbled about carrying sleeping people that is.

Other than that however it was quite interesting, or should she say curious? To watch the boy navigate the shrine. After his comment about the northern courtyard, not being the library it should have become quite obvious that the boy was quite honestly horrible with directions.

Erica wondered how he even found himself in the Northern Courtyard considering it was on the opposite end of the Shrine from the library.

It was however watching some of the servants bow in front of the boy and answering his every question to the best of their ability, like they would treat a valued guest.

While the rest of the shrine's caretakers, simply shrugged him off like he was nothing but a bother, that gained her interest. When the Knight in training asked the servants themselves, they just smiled sadly at her. Like she was a toddler about to poke a sleeping dragon, Before saying that they couldn't tell her even if they wanted to.

That had put her off balance briefly, before she just continued to trail after the boy as he continued to haul around Alexandra, for what must have been almost an hour before he simply put her in a guest room.

After tucking Alexandra into bed like a four year old, he shuffled over to the spare chair, present in the room. After a few minutes of Idle thought the boy stood up, before he yawned flopping back into his seat like a blob of jelly, as he entered the realm of unconsciousness.

Erica was unable to fight of the urge to facepalm. A cringe inducing smacking sound echoed throughout the room as the red devil soon rubbed her equally red face, in muffled irritation.

'Note to Self: Do not use full strength to facepalm' Disregarding that thought Erica took moment to actually _look_ at the person she had been stalking for the good part of two hours.

He wasn't anything, special. Just a somewhat tall eleven-twelve year old boy, with a strange emerald hat going over his spiky golden blonde hair. His skin holding onto a sun kissed tan that meant he was probably foreign, considering the usual pale complexion of the Swedish. His clothes a brilliant emerald thigh length coat, over a common, unremarkable white t-shirt, and a pair of black pants. A strange necklace glinting in the light, as it dangled around his neck.

Her heart skipped a beat.

She could feel it a malevolent presence hanging over her shoulders as it slinked down her form-

Then it was gone, disappearing like a shadow in a dark room. Fading from the room as soon as it came. Erica Blandelli, blinked as she glanced around the room in confusion.

What had she been thinking about?

Scratching her head in confusion, she shrugged mentally. It probably wasn't all that important, either way nothing interesting was happening right now, so she might as well finish her other assignment.

Sighing internally Erica Blandelli set out to see if any of the survivors, had any magical potential, turning around she marched out of the room.

Unaware as the strange necklace around Naruto's neck, glimmered an unsettling shade of red as she left the room.

* * *

When Naruto fell into the realm of sleep, he was expecting a dream of some sort. Maybe it would be a typical dream, one those unremarkable ones that faded into the back of his skull, never to be remembered again.

Maybe it would b, the dream of when he, Shizuka, and Godou were trying to cook a surprise cake for aunt Chiyo… at midnight. Well it was mainly just him and Godou cooking, since Shizuka was far too young to cook. She was four in this dream after all, so she just stood behind them and Supervised.

Of course they screwed up eventually, and set the cake on fire in the oven, so Gramps had to rush down the stairs. Barely dressed, as he hurried to put out the fire. Then the old man would try and scold them, but before they new it they'd all started laughing.

It was a strange dream but, and an even stranger memory, but it never failed to warm Naruto's heart.

But he didn't get either of those.

He didn't even get a nightmare.

No as soon as he fell asleep, Naruto Kusanagi "Woke up" in a strange room. It was a fairly big room shelves on every wall, and a single record player in the center of the room. The strange thing was that even though every shelf was full of old dusty vinyl records, still in their original sleeves, he couldn't play a single one.

None of them worked, and Naruto had tried. He'd picked entire shelves clean, slipping each and every record into place, and setting the stylus into the right spot only for the record to go poof as soon as he turned the phonograph on. If time in the dream world had any effect on reality then Naruto would be a hundred years old, from the amount of time he spent clearing shelves, upon shelves of records.

No matter what he did, as soon as he flipped the phonograph on, the record went poof. He was being literal too, as each record would turn into smoke with an actual poofing sound and everything.

Running a hand through his hair, Naruto finally decided to take a break and sit down on the couch in front of the phonograph. Naruto was really beginning to hate this dream.

Sighing the blond decided to simply sit here until, he woke up. Leaning back into a the couch, he basked in the warmth of the fireplace (that he was pretty sure wasn't here a few minutes ago) in front of him. Reaching out beside him, Naruto was honestly surprised to feel his hand hitting, an end table.

Taking a bit more interest in his surroundings, only to find the room had shifted around him. A fresh mahogany coffee, table with the record player sitting innocently on top. All of the records that had disappeared previously were now once again sitting undisturbed on their shelves. However propped up against the phonograph, were six records… and they seemed familiar to Naruto.

Reaching out for the one of the records, he gasped and almost dropped it. He was expecting, the sensation of cardboard against his fingers only to feel, the texture of worn leather brush against his fingers. Pulling the record closer, he looked over it, only to find the sleeve was made of a familiar green substance.

A green substance, he'd stabbed several times with a spear, barely a few days ago.

That was nothing however as he realized exactly what the record was.

Naruto's voice barely above a whisper, as he spoke "My authorities…" silence enveloping the room... the dream... whatever the hell it was.

His moment of silence was ruined when a bright purple rocket smashed into his side. Groaning in pain, despite the fact it was a dream and well he couldn't really feel pain at the moment. Holding back a few choice words, he glanced down at the pink bullet that had slammed into his side, only to find the witch of Knowledge, Pandora looking up gleefully into his face.

"Did you like my present? Did You? Did You?" The goddess asked like a particularly annoying four year old, her hands waving about in an ecstatic gesture. Naruto did the smart thing.

He facepalmed.


	11. 11 Pink Goddess's, And Biased Books

Naruto's Dream

* * *

Naruto rubbed his forehead, he could feel the distinct throb of pain that forewarned, the appearance of a headache. It probably shouldn't of been possible to get a headache in a dream, but he was sure the Pink goddess in front of him could manage it. Opening his eye, he stared at the chirpy Woman whom had claimed him as her adoptive child.

She was sitting their glancing around his… Dream scape? Mind scape? Whatever it was called, in a form of fascination. The shelves upon shelves of endless records, spiking her interest but only slightly. There was a certain amount of familiarity, twinkling in her eyes- like when you went to a friends house, but they'd moved the furniture around.

It was interesting, and new, but only to a point.

Using his hands to push himself further, into the couch which was now a green velvety material.- that was another thing, the longer he stayed inside, his Dream-scape or whatever it was called, the more defined the things around him became.- Naruto sat up straight, and looked at Pandora.

She was sitting across from him, a small coffee table made of some undesirable material sitting in between them. One her fingers idly twirling a lock of her violet hair, which was still, put into two ponytail, trailing out behind her.

The old fashioned, ruby earrings jingling slightly as she turned her head to look about the… er dream?

Clearing his throat the blond took the plunge. "So, Mom…" Pandora's head snapped in his direction, so fast that if she wasn't a goddess she would have gotten whiplash "Just what present were you talking about? Also while I'm asking questions… just where are we?" A Pleasant smile broke out on the ancient goddess's face.

"To Answer your second question, we're in your head, more specifically a part of your mind, created when you became a Campione." The Goddess said more than happy to explain. "You see when a Campione is reborn, one part of the process, shoves a bunch of knowledge and other such things to help the Campione survive. While a lot of this knowledge is lost in the process, most of it remains on an instinctual level. Hardly any Campione ever manage to retain any of this knowledge consciously."

Pandora continued on, in her signature chirpy tone, practically bouncing in her seat as she did so. "This room is the result of all that knowledge, settling down as it assimilates completely. Up to this point, you've been drawing on it as a separate entity, now it's yours completely!" Cheered Pandora, her arms flying about in an overjoyed gesture.

Naruto smirked into his fist as he chuckled at his adoptive mother's antics. He was mildly surprised when the thought wasn't followed by the now signature awkward feeling but pushed the matter aside. Opening his mouth to ask another question, he missed the happy blush on the, Greek woman's face.

"So all these records are just… representations of the knowledge I've accumulated so far?" the goddess hummed slightly before answering. "Yes and no. Right now the room is just displaying, all the possible authorities you could have. To simplify, all the knowledge shoved into the head of the Campione comes from the Akashic record, a recording of all future and past possibilities for our universe… I do believe you gave Plutarch quite the headache a few years ago when that sliver of your soul fell into our dimension." She said nonchalantly, as if talking about nothing more than a news broadcast.

If Naruto had been drinking anything at that moment, he'd have taken a spit take. Actually, this was his mind, so did that mean if he imagined a glass of water it would appear? Inwardly he debated the pros and cons of summoning a glass of water just to do a spit take.

Unaware of her adoptive child's musings the goddess shrugged off her previous line of thought and continued with her explanation. "The reason you couldn't play any of the records was because, you have yet to obtain the Authority, or it is no longer possible for you to gain them, and as such Plutarch-the keeper of the Akashic record-has censored them." The girl stated without fanfare.

Shaken from, his spit taking thoughts, Naruto nodded to the goddess's theory. Although he had the distinct thought someone should probably give Plutarch a hug, or perhaps a cookie. No idea why he did, but he did. Okay now he's confusing himself, shaking away his confusion he looked towards the goddess who had trailed off at some point.

'Better get this show on the road.' he sighed "Okay so now that that's out of the way what was this gift you were talking about?" He may have sounded a bit ungrateful, but he was twelve, and you try stopping yourself from getting excited when someone says they've got a present for you.

The goddess blinked, as if coming back to reality. Before giving him a motherly smile, almost like she was watching an over excited five year old. "That, involves another explanation." She said joyfully, as if explanations were the next best best thing since sliced bread. Now that he thought about it, from the Marquis's rather limited lecture on campione, he could gather the only real time Pandora ever got to talk to anyone was when, someone killed a god, and even then they don't really remember it.

It seems he was the odd one out even among the odd.

His attention was however returned to the goddess, only to find her pouting in, what most people would call an adorable fashion. Naruto however wasn't all that normal, that and he'd lived with Shizuka, no matter how short it was. Therefor he only found it cute… extremely cute.

Smiling sheepishly at Pandora, he waved for her to continue explaining. Giving a cross humph, she continued. "As you would know had you been paying attention." Cue glare. "the Authorities acquired by killing rouge gods, are much like the extra knowledge given during rebirth." The all knowing woman explained, her features softening as she continued to lecture him. "That is that they both have to be assimilated. The more of the Authority you incorporate into your body, and mind, the easier the Authority will be to use, and the more willing the Authority will become to follow your commands, without lashing out at you." Pandora looked at him to make sure he was following along, beaming proudly when she found Naruto listening intently to her every word.

Naruto was pretty sure she could have been a great teacher.

"As more of the Authority is subsumed, you won't have to worry about lengthy chants or, harsh consequences for using an authority too long. Of course their are still consequences, just far less damning." Breathing the still joyful goddess, skipped back to her seat-having left it at some point.- "My gift, comes in two parts-or three I guess. I sorta… might've accidentally made a door to your mind when I was, working with the original presents…" The goddess chuckled nervously as she avoided eye contact, playing idly with her hands. "So you basically have an all access pass to my part of the nether world…" Shaking her head, the bubbly goddess bounced in her seat. "As for the intentional part of the gift, well I sped up the assimilation process for your authorities, which is unfortunately only a one time thing. So don't go expecting me to do it every time okay?"

Staring at her face Naruto could tell that was a lie. All he had to do was put on a few crocodile tears, sniffle a bit and she would crumble. He knew it, she knew it, but Naruto wasn't going to take advantage of her like that. He idly wondered if she'd spoiled all her demigod children silly with how weak her defenses were, she probably had.

Agreeing with the goddess Naruto, blinked as she got up to leave, a door popping up right in front of her, as it creaked open. So stunned was the blond, that he only managed to call out when she was half way through the door. "Mom!?" the goddess paused, sticking her head out of the halfway shut door. "Yes Naruto?" she said curiously her eyes alight in inquiry. "What about the the third part?" Pandora giggled mischievously, her face a mixed expression of laughter, and a sly smile as she laughed at some unknown comedy.

"That's a secret!" was her call, as she shut the door behind her. The last thing he remembered before, he returned to the land of the living was, the distinct feeling of his eyebrow twitching uncontrollably.

* * *

Reality

* * *

He sat up straight, his hands rubbing the sleep from his eyes, out of habit. Glancing around the room he was momentarily confused. ' _This isn't my dorm room…'_ Scanning the room, for a few minutes his memories of the past few days assaulted him.

Only for Pandora's parting words to echo in his head. Groaning he slumped in the comfy white chair. ' _Pandora…'_ he cursed internally, would it kill her to give a straight answer? Her bright smile echoing through his head, along with her parting words.

' _It's a secret!'_

Of course, it's a secret yeah, that explains _everything_! Thought the Kusanagi sarcastically. Pushing himself out of the warm, comfortable chair, Naruto fought of a disgruntled sigh. What the chair was really soft, and comfortable! Some idle part of his mind was even plotting to abuse his new found authority, in order to have it moved into his dorm. But that is neither here nor their.

Stretching out his legs, he paused to brush of some imaginary dust before sneaking out of the room quiet as a mouse, as he made sure not to wake the still sleeping Olsson. Shutting the softly, he gave another yawn. 'To the library I go!' he thought cheerfully, he really did need to look up what his crazed, power hungry, delusional, god killing, adoptive siblings were doing.

He'd rather know what he was getting into than be surprised later, after all. Pulling out his-still singed- cell phone, Naruto was surprised to find he'd slept most of yesterday away. Heck he'd slept a good portion of today away too, considering it was 9:45 Am.

The Godslayer shrugged, before marching his way to the library.

Only stopping to grab a sandwich-well a sandwich platter... what? he was hungry!- on his way, he finally-with the help of dozens of servants-found the ever elusive library. Based upon how large the room was, he assumed someone had used some sort of magic to expand it.

It was somewhat breathtaking, row upon row upon of shelves filled with books of all kinds. While Naruto was no Librarian, he took pride in the fact that he could still see the beauty in such a large collection of human knowledge. Cracking his neck Naruto decided it was time to hit the books. Wandering through the aisles, he pulled off any tome that might have a reference to the current generation of Campione.

By the time he was satisfied, with his findings, his stack of books was well over his height, as it towered over some of the shorter shelves. Pulling a chair over to his pile of knowledge, he picked up one of the books, and called upon his magic.

Letting the Arcane energy flow through his, molding it as he cast the spell. In seconds he could feel the knowledge pierce his mind and assimilate almost instantly. It was however at this exact moment that Naruto decided, he probably wasn't going to use this spell all that often, and never on a fictional book.

It just felt _wrong_ and so… foreign, as the knowledge was assimilated into his mind. Their was none of the sense of accomplishment that came with finishing a book, none of the excitement of reading a story, nor was their the satisfaction, of memorizing a fact.

It was so...so mechanical. Like someone decided randomly to chisel the entire fifth volume, of "Deities and their Heretics" into his mind, but did so with no emotion. Like they took every bit of pride contained within each word, and replaced every ounce of pride with a pound of apathy.

Another downer, was that he literally knew the entire book word for word, and he would never be able to forget it. Lets just say their was a lot of thing about Heretic gods he didn't want to know.( _Why would anyone want to know that the heretic deity Aphrodite had killed over a hundred Campione using only pure sexual prowess?)_

' _Either way I don't think I'll be using that spell again anytime soon._ '

Shrugging it off he pulled out a different book from his stack, and set to work. He spent hour after hour, flipping stale dust ridden pages with interest as he silently absorbed every word. Each book leaving him with, question after question, new curiosities breaking through with every page. Question like if he could pull ambrosia from his **[Dragon's Hoard]** Authority,( _after testing it out he could safely say no to that)_ or what was wiping out the campione every few hundred years?

He even idly contemplated if he was going to live to his twenties, as it seemed, he had been reborn during a time with an almost unheard of amount of campione. The opportune time for whatever had been wiping Campione out for centuries to show it's face, don't you think?

On the subject of Campione, what he'd found was rather surprising. While the were only six living campione at the moment, over the last two hundred years over forty people had staked claim to the title. The thing was over half of them had died within 24 hours of ascension, and a fourth of the original amount had died within a week. Those remaining had either died within a year, or lived on to become the Campione of today.

Naruto groaned rubbing his tired eyes, refusing to read another word of the book. With it's Archaic take on old English, and rather biased views on just about everything he was surprised the book had lasted through the centuries without being set on fire, at least once. Rubbing his temples he closed his eyes, as to not burn the copy, of Truth and facts, of Devil kings.

'Pfft, more like how to shove a pole up your ass for dummies.' Shoving the book away as to not tempt himself, he climbed to his feet. Stretching his unused limbs, he gave out a satisfied groan. "Time to take a break!" Naruto cheered, his feet carrying him swiftly out of the library, as he shot out into the winter sun. Despite the somewhat chilly air, the Sixth King Reveled in the warmth the sun brought. Goose bumps rising on his skin at the conflicting feeling of cold air and warm light.

It was the clash, of metal, and clacking of sparks that snapped Naruto out of his sun warmed revelry. Naruto was vaguely familiar with the sound of blades clashing against each other. After all he'd originally attempted, training in swordsmanship until his Sensei, had proclaimed he had no skill, or even potential skill in any form of martial arts.

Over the years he'd accepted the fact that his original teacher had been an idiot, and not worth the money. After all he'd only been five and he'd never touched a weapon before, so of course he had no skill to speak of!

But that was unimportant, as he assessed his surroundings. He was in one of the many Courtyards of the Dragon shrine, and from what he could see this area had been cleaned up for the most part. A bit of rubble was still lying about but not to much, and in the center of the courtyard was a girl.

She was about his age-probably a year or so younger- with striking solid gold hair, with bright blue eyes, and a pair of nondescript earrings, hanging from her ears. A slim red winter jacket wrapping her form along with a pair of form fitting jeans. Some symbol that he didn't recognize shown proudly on her back as she danced around sword in hand.

She appeared to be sparring with an average boy, about twice her age… and she was taunting him. Her sword sending out sparks with each clash, seemingly bored, as her foot shot forward hooking behind the boys ankle, tripping him as she brought her blade to his throat.

Naruto Grinned out of excitement. He had quite a bit of energy to burn off after spending so long reading, and from what he could see of the group, they had a few spears ready for use.

After all what was the harm in a friendly spar?


	12. 12 Penny for your Thoughts?

Erica Blandelli had learned many thing during her short life.

From Diplomacy to alchemy she had learned whatever she could get her grubby little mitts on. She had sparred with master swordsmen & women, taking every bit advice and experience out of every encounter, every loss just caused her to grow _more!_ Even if it was only a tiny bit stronger.

However Erica would say the most valuable advice she could ever give someone was earned on this day.

The sky that was only a moment ago stark royal blue… had turned a nightmarish black from hellish smoke. Embers joyfully crackling and fire snickering as it licked its way through what was once a lush valley filled with life and greenery. Pine tree's once filled with bright green needles, and holding endless amounts of pure white snow, now little more than still warm husks. Charcoal tree trunks flickering with veins of fiery orange embers, as the noxious scent of fiery death permeated the dying forest.

The girl with weaved gold hair was more than two miles away, yet she cold still feel the fires as if it was dragging a tongue over her cold flesh. Beads of sweat poured down her brow clinging to her body as she was forced to gasp down sickeningly hot air, only to cough up the smoke laced oxygen moments later.

Her ash covered fingers digging into the inky black, remains of local flora as she struggled to stay conscious. The world spinning in a dizzying display of orange, yellow, and black. Sparks snickering through the underbrush, as the world twisted unnervingly to her sight.

It was on this day that Erica Blandelli was reaffirmed in her belief that Campione were monsters of luck and insanity, Beings that thrived in chaos just as her father had _warned_.

It was on this day however that Erica Blandelli Learned that the Sixth King was something to be feared. Because Campione were monsters that much was true, but the Sixth King was a _Dragon_.

A Dragon Hiding in a _coat_ made from it's own _skin_.

* * *

A few Hours earlier

* * *

Erica Blandelli was frustrated.

It wasn't all that surprising after all she had a lot of thing to be frustrated about. After all the blond had been forced into an assignment in Sweden, place she had a very well known distaste. At least during the winter months that is, once it hit summer she was all for a quick trip over.

But alas it had only just turned to January a few days before, and as such any form of warm weather may as well have not existed in the first place as far as Erica was concerned. Then there was the needless politicking she'd been forced to do after encountering that _woman_.

In Erica's opinion that woman really needed to loosen up.

After finally getting the eighteen year old off her back, she'd been forced to act like some common _fragile_ girl. All while putting up a cutesy facade, in order to instill the fact that the **[Copper Black Cross]** was made up kind helpful people who would do nothing more than ensure their well being.

It was that image that they wished to maintain.

After all what would you prefer?

The kind innocent organization, that had one of it's representatives selflessly helping crippled people, and other wounded into ambulance after a great tragedy?

Or

The stuffy easily angered, Organization that was made up of snobby nobles that couldn't be bothered to lift a finger?

It was quite easy to see which of the two options most people would pick and as such they did their best to project said image. Of course some people argued that sending a little girl, seemed at least mildly unprofessional and it was to some extent.

Of course only a small portion of the several hundred visitors had the magical power to even perceive the Heretical God as anything other than a few explosions. So it might have been a bit overkill to put so much thought into it in the first place.

Returning to the original topic, Erica Blandelli had a lot of reasons to be frustrated.

One that made more than it's fair share of said frustration was what happened after she had finished her stint of straight faced acting. What was it that caused this you ask? It was quite simple really.

She didn't know.

After watching the ever stern Shrine representative pass out from exhaustion, she had -for some reason that she couldn't possibly comprehend,- followed the person who had been charged with putting her to bed.

She could recall every single detail of the entire escapade, she could recall asking the several of the many caretakers that made their home at the shrine, multiple meaningless questions. Before then following the boy as he hauled the eighteen year old all over the shrine.

But for some reason, the entire memory seemed to grate at her mind. Almost as if she'd _forgotten_ something increasingly important.

It had been hours since she had left the Blonde alone with Alexandra and she'd been forced to deal with the nagging feeling grating against her nerves ever since. In an attempt to drown out the headache she could already feel developing, she had gathered every potential mage that had interest in learning how to use a close quarters weapon.

After all she might as well take out her frustration on the newbies.

It had been two hours since then and not one of them had lasted longer than a minute against her. Thus resulting in an even worse headache brought on by their incessant complaining, and the urge to murder every single one of them in frustration.

Not a single one had allowed her to express her frustration, and to be honest, it was kind of sad.

The future Diavolo Rosso knew just how much she towered over those in her age group, but these were full grown men, and women! She was holding back too! None of them had even managed to press her in anyway, and frankly it was getting depressing.

They were adults they should _fight_ like it!

Even now she was fighting, and her opponent hadn't even managed to scratch her while she was distracted by mentally ranting about her frustration!

Even as she put her opponent on his back, and laid the tip of her practice sword on the man's throat. She couldn't help but complain that it felt like bullying a four year old, and it made her feel bad too! Grown men honestly shouldn't pout like that after losing!

It was _creepy!_

Not that she showed that as she shook the man's hand with a straight face and complemented the man's tenacity... now that she thought about she should probably look up what that word meant… It wouldn't do for her to use the word in the wrong context after all.

Shaking the errant thought away she cleared her throat. "Anyone else want to give it a go?" A pleasant smile on her face glowing like a tiny sun, even though she felt like sulking in a dark corner somewhere.

"Sure" a voice called out steadily, "I'll give it a shot." Now that had Erica's attention. Ever since she had finished the first match as quickly as she could, every challenger had wavered momentarily, and choked on their words.

All of them had been hesitant, and nervous.

Which was fine, after all most of the people here had never touched a blade of any sort beyond kitchenware in their lives. So such a reaction was expected, but well, when your opponent flinched at your every move…

Yeah it got annoying after a while…

However this new challenger, his voice hadn't wavered even an inch. There was no slight change in tone, or even sign of hesitation. If anything he sounded vaguely excited.

Turning her head to the person who had caught said attention, she found herself staring at the very boy she had been stalking only a few hours beforehand.

He was a boy around her age, probably a year or two older and on the taller side of the height scale. Sun kissed skin giving him away as either a tourist or a visitor, spiky blond hair flailing about randomly in the breeze as he smiled cheerfully at her, his blue eyes sparkling happily.

A green jacket hanging from his hand as he slipped it out of it, revealing the plain white t-shirt underneath. She caught a glimpse of metal around his neck, signalling that he was wearing a necklace - _DONTLOOKATITDONTLOOKATIT!_ \- of some sort. The Blandelli however didn't get a good look at it as he instinct screamed at her to avoid looking at whatever it was that hung from the boys neck.

Following her instinct she looked away from his chest and into the boys sapphire eyes, as they glowed with something akin to anticipation.

Accepting the older boys challenge with raised eyebrow, she nodded her head in the direction of several racks filled to the brim with a high variety of melee weapons. "Take one and we'll see if your "Shot" has any accuracy." -That had sounded way better in her head- Declared the admittedly frustrated Blandelli.

The boy took no insult to her haughty reply, simply rolling his eyes in response as he almost skipped over to the weapon racks. His feet slapping softly against the stone of the now ruined courtyard, scattering bits of broken stone and sending rocks scattering as he practically pranced towards the weapon rack.

Erica was extremely grateful that the shrine staff had taken the time to clean out the actual sparring area, of debris.

Huffing Erica walked to side of the chalk square opposite the rack's of weapons, the group of people she had been "teaching" having grouped up on her left to watch the upcoming spar.

It was however just as she took position at her end of the chalk square that a chill went down her spine. Her instincts screaming at her in a parody of a hell hounds howl, sweat beading down her forehead, and the hairs on her neck raised, as the northern court yard suddenly lost any pretense of warmth.

Not that anyone else seemed to have noticed of course.

The crowd on the sidelines continued uninhibited and unaware, even as a flock of birds flapped away in terror. It was only after several seconds that Erica was able to break out of what ever phantom had possessed her body.

Moving Mechanically like a living doll as her eyes immediately honed in on what caused her instincts to go haywire. It was the very blond she was suppose to be sparring against. His eyes trained upon what looked to be one of the several enchanted spears provided by the shrine.

It was as his hand reached out for the spear did the feeling return full force, screaming like a dying beast. _Screaming_ that whatever should happen she should not let that monster touch a spear. Let alone hold the pole arm, or god forbid _use_ one.

The Erica Blandelli who had actively fought against Heretic Deities, would have recognized that feeling. The Erica Blandelli Who had stood side by side with Kusanagi Godou as he challenged Verethragna, would have shivered mildly. The Erica Blandelli who had been there to see Salvatore Doni "duel", several of his fellow Campione to their bloody death would have done the smart thing.

And run…

But this was not the Diavolo Rosso who had stood cheekily beside the mad Soon-to-be-Godslayer, this was not the concubine of the seventh -as he was called in a parallel universe- king. No this was Erica Blandelli the eleven year old Knight hopeful. This was the Erica whose only true fight had been with a slime divine beast -who were -somehow- _even_ weaker than they're video game counter parts-.

This particular Erica was already snippy and impatient after several hours of sparring with severely inadequate opponents.

As such when the feeling evaporated almost instantly she wrote it off as her imagination. Even if it wasn't her imagination it was probably some form of aberration, in nature. A mild manifestation of a Heretic god's summoning, one of the minor consequences of such an _alien_ existence breaking through to this reality.

After all summoning something so powerful was bound to have some consequences. Some small thing like minor delusions, and birds dropping dead for no reason, or larger more impactful events like shifts in the ley lines, and the land dieing off..

So the younger blond discarded the sensation, writing it off as a natural occurrence.

She was right of course, the sensation was entirely natural after all, but for different reasons than she thought. After all it was an entirely natural reaction when you were about to fight what amounted to a natural disaster in physical form.

Calming the beating of her heart, as the boy walked back towards the chalk square with a spear in hand. So mundane was the spear that Erica was almost concerned that it wouldn't have any of the safety enhancements the other weapons did.

Something proven wrong when the blade rippled a strange rainbow color when the light struck it just the right way.

As the boy entered the square he mirrored her, taking his own relaxed stance as she fell into her own.

"What are the rules?" the boy asked confidently, his eyes aimed straight into her own. She could feel the frustration build up in her chest as some part of her shouted, to get the fight started already.

Explaining the rules, she could only hope he would give her a small challenge.

And shiver cause god damn was it _cold_ out there.

* * *

Naruto was lost in thought.

Even as he proposed the duel, he was on autopilot his feet taking him to his goal he was utterly lost in thought.

The reason for this was quite simple.

When had started thinking of spars as entertainment and stress relief?

He had always liked sparring, but this was different. He found the rush exhilarating but he'd never thought of them as a mundane part of his life. Like playing football, or Kendo. No it had always held some form of unique danger.

They were fun but each spar had an edge to it, almost like any mistake would lead to death.

Now it was just… _sport_.

A particularly enjoyable sport, but nothing to worry about. Not like a slip would result in someone losing their hand or anything right?

Except it could, and that fact didn't bother him at all. He contemplated idly as he picked out a spear autonomously. (His subconscious having picked out a fauchard for his weapon)

He hardly noticed it as he slipped into a stance, it was only as he felt his lips ask a question without his prompting did he snap out of his trance.

The blond girl across from his rolled her eyes in such a way that most people would have missed it. "Full Contact" The Italian girl announced her accent giving away her origin. A hint of annoyance coated her words once again imperceptible to most people, as a false patient's concealed it. She seemed frustrated for some reason.

Had he insulted her in some way? Perhaps he'd missed something she'd said?

Either way she seemed quite eager for the spar to start.

But she still continued to explain the rules to him. "No going outside the chalk outline, three fatal hits makes the winner. No magic, and don't worry the Blades are enchanted and won't do anything more than bruise."

Raising an eyebrow at the girl he nodded, she seemingly taking that as the end of his questions gestured to the man standing in as referee.

The stand in glanced at both of them seaming trying to tell if they were both ready before yelling "Start!" at the top of his lungs.

The Eleven year old ran forward, a flurry of slashes flowing from her sword as she took a fairly aggressive method of attack. Naruto however was undaunted, side stepping her sword, he used the hooked side of the fauchard(or should he be calling it a glaive since the pole was so short?) to stop her sword temporarily. Something that seemed to have stunned the smaller girl, before hooking the pole of the weapon under her feet. Sending her to the ground, with his blade at her neck before she could even react.

As the girl tumbled into the ground Naruto blinked… that was way easier than usual. Heck he wasn't even trying all that hard. She was moving so slow, and He barely put any strength into it… at... all…

He almost smacked himself the second he realized it. How could he be so stupid? He was a campione. A Devil king, as Marquis had put it earlier during his little show of strength earlier that day.

He as a devil king had strength far exceeding that of a full grown adult, and it wasn't that she was moving too _slow_ , but that he was moving too _fast_.

Cutting himself from his thoughts, his hands gripping the Glaive (as he'd decided it was definitely a glaive) as he found the previously confused girl smirking at him. He didn't know why, and he didn't care to ask how but he knew for some strange reason with a tingling chill.

That this girl smirking at him was _not good_ for his future health.

* * *

Erica could feel the confusion bubble in her chest.

What had just happened?

One second she was sending a few strikes towards her fellow blond, the next her sword had been stopped, and then she was on the ground. The small pain that came from landing not so softly on the ground ignored completely -as was the blade pressed to her neck- as she did her best to understand the previous line of events.

The blond boy -her senior by about a year- had just put her on-as her dad said when he thought she wasn't listening- her ass with little to no effort. Heck if she was reading the boy's facial expression right he was rather upset with himself for putting so much effort into the fight.

She had been holding back of course.

The Blandelli may have been a bit brash, but she was expecting to fight a civilian with little to no experience at all, _not_ the avid practitioner that she had received.

It was only natural she had held back.

But now… well… she didn't really have to hold back now did she?

A smirk that would cause the Devil to pause before bursting into delighted laughter, crawled onto her lips. A madness unique to mages glowing within the depths of her oceanic eyes.

She could throw everything she had at this boy and not have to worry. So that was exactly what she did. Jumping to her feet she threw a flurry of slashes, kicks, punches, feints, uppercuts, and just about everything barring magic at her fellow blond with all of her skill brought to bare.

Only for the boy to dodge, weave, block, and once outright steal her weapon from her hand -in what appeared to be a genuine accident- without any real effort.

It was a sweaty, dirty, and utterly exhausted Erica that sat within the chalk outline by the end of the third and final round.

Of course the exhilarated smile upon her face, allowed no one to think she hadn't had her fair share of fun.

Now if only it wasn't ruined when Marquis Voban himself burst into the courtyard.

* * *

 _ **I've rewritten this chapter eight times(One of which was almost 5k in length) but no matter what I do this chapter just seams... Ugh I can't even put into words. Strange way to start an A/N but whatever. Either way sorry for making you guys wait so long, and thank you my followers for your continued support.**_

 _ **I hope you've enjoyed the story so far.**_


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